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This past October on the island of Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was pushed into the turquoise waters – a small act that represented a highly meaningful moment.

It was the maiden journey of a traditional canoe on Lifou in living memory, an gathering that assembled the island’s three chiefly clans in a rare show of unity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was instrumental in the launch. For the past eight years, he has led a program that seeks to restore ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an initiative intended to reunite Indigenous Kanak people with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “opening of discussions” around sea access rights and environmental policies.

Diplomatic Efforts

During the summer month of July, he journeyed to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for maritime regulations created in consultation with and by Indigenous communities that honor their relationship with the sea.

“Our ancestors always traveled by water. We abandoned that practice for a time,” Tikoure says. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Canoes hold profound traditional significance in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those customs declined under colonisation and missionary influences.

Tradition Revival

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was exploring how to restore traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure worked with the authorities and two years later the canoe construction project – known as Project Kenu Waan – was born.

“The most difficult aspect didn’t involve cutting down trees, it was convincing people,” he explains.

Project Achievements

The Kenu Waan project sought to revive traditional navigation techniques, train young builders and use boat-building to enhance community pride and island partnerships.

To date, the team has organized a showcase, published a book and enabled the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

In contrast to many other island territories where deforestation has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for crafting substantial vessels.

“Elsewhere, they often employ modern composites. In our location, we can still carve solid logs,” he states. “It makes a significant advantage.”

The boats created under the program merge traditional boat forms with local sailing systems.

Teaching Development

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been educating students in seafaring and heritage building techniques at the local university.

“For the first time ever this knowledge are offered at graduate studies. It’s not theory – this is knowledge I’ve lived. I’ve crossed oceans on these canoes. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness during these journeys.”

Regional Collaboration

He traveled with the team of the traditional boat, the Fijian canoe that traveled to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he states. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage collectively.”

Political Engagement

In July, Tikoure journeyed to the European location to share a “Kanak vision of the ocean” when he met with Macron and government representatives.

Before state and foreign officials, he argued for cooperative sea policies based on Kanak custom and community involvement.

“It’s essential to include local populations – especially fishing communities.”

Modern Adaptation

Currently, when mariners from various island nations – from Fiji, Micronesia and New Zealand – arrive in Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, refine the construction and finally voyage together.

“We’re not simply replicating the traditional forms, we enable their progression.”

Holistic Approach

For Tikoure, instructing mariners and supporting ecological regulations are linked.

“It’s all about community participation: who is entitled to move across the sea, and who determines which activities take place there? Traditional vessels function as a means to start that conversation.”