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During the autumn month of October on the island of Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was pushed into the lagoon – a small act that marked a highly meaningful moment.

It was the maiden journey of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in many decades, an occasion that united the island’s three chiefly clans in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the last eight years, he has overseen a initiative that aims to revive traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been constructed in an effort intended to reunite local Kanak populations with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure says the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and environmental policies.

Global Outreach

This past July, he journeyed to France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, calling for ocean governance shaped with and by local tribes that acknowledge their maritime heritage.

“Our ancestors always traveled by water. We abandoned that practice for a period,” Tikoure says. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Canoes hold deep cultural importance in New Caledonia. They once represented movement, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those customs diminished under foreign occupation and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was looking at how to restore traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure partnered with the government and two years later the boat building initiative – known as Project Kenu Waan – was born.

“The hardest part wasn’t cutting down trees, it was persuading communities,” he says.

Project Achievements

The program sought to revive ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to reinforce cultural identity and island partnerships.

So far, the group has created a display, released a publication and facilitated the building or renovation of nearly three dozen boats – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

Different from many other Pacific islands where deforestation has reduced wood resources, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“Elsewhere, they often work with synthetic materials. Locally, we can still carve solid logs,” he states. “This creates all the difference.”

The vessels constructed under the program combine oceanic vessel shapes with Melanesian rigging.

Academic Integration

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been instructing seafaring and ancestral craft methods at the University of New Caledonia.

“This marks the initial occasion these topics are included at master’s level. It’s not theory – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on these vessels. I’ve cried tears of joy doing it.”

Island Cooperation

Tikoure sailed with the crew of the Fijian vessel, the Pacific vessel that journeyed to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, from Fiji to here, this represents a unified effort,” he explains. “We’re reclaiming the ocean together.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure visited the French city to share a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he met with Macron and government representatives.

Before state and foreign officials, he argued for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and community involvement.

“We must engage local populations – particularly those who live from fishing.”

Contemporary Evolution

Currently, when navigators from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and New Zealand – come to Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, modify the design and ultimately sail side by side.

“We don’t just copy the old models, we help them develop.”

Comprehensive Vision

In his view, educating sailors and advocating environmental policy are connected.

“The core concept concerns community participation: what permissions exist to navigate marine territories, and who decides which activities take place in these waters? The canoe function as a means to start that conversation.”