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During the autumn month of October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was launched into the coastal lagoon – a simple gesture that marked a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in many decades, an event that assembled the island’s main family lineages in a rare show of unity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the last eight years, he has spearheaded a project that works to resurrect heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an effort intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure states the boats also promote the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and conservation measures.

Diplomatic Efforts

In July, he travelled to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for marine policies developed alongside and by native populations that honor their relationship with the sea.

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

Canoes hold significant historical meaning in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those customs diminished under foreign occupation and religious conversion efforts.

Cultural Reclamation

His journey started in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to restore ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure collaborated with the authorities and after two years the boat building initiative – known as Kenu Waan project – was launched.

“The most difficult aspect didn’t involve harvesting timber, it was convincing people,” he says.

Initiative Accomplishments

The program aimed to restore heritage voyaging practices, mentor apprentice constructors and use canoe-making to strengthen cultural identity and island partnerships.

So far, the organization has produced an exhibition, released a publication and enabled the creation or repair of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other Pacific islands where deforestation has diminished timber supplies, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for carving large hulls.

“There, they often work with modern composites. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he says. “It makes all the difference.”

The boats created under the program integrate Polynesian hull design with Melanesian rigging.

Teaching Development

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been teaching maritime travel and heritage building techniques at the University of New Caledonia.

“For the first time ever these topics are included at master’s level. This isn’t academic – these are experiences I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on these canoes. I’ve cried tears of joy during these journeys.”

Pacific Partnerships

He traveled with the crew of the traditional boat, the Pacific vessel that traveled to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Throughout the region, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he says. “We’re restoring the sea collectively.”

Policy Advocacy

This past July, Tikoure visited the European location to introduce a “Kanak vision of the marine environment” when he met with Macron and additional officials.

Addressing official and overseas representatives, he argued for cooperative sea policies based on local practices and local engagement.

“You have to involve these communities – most importantly fishing communities.”

Current Development

Now, when mariners from across the Pacific – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – come to Lifou, they study canoes collectively, modify the design and eventually navigate in unison.

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

Integrated Mission

For Tikoure, teaching navigation and advocating environmental policy are linked.

“The fundamental issue involves community participation: who is entitled to move across the sea, and what authority governs what occurs in these waters? Heritage boats serve as a method to start that conversation.”