🔗 Share this article

In October on Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was launched into the turquoise waters – a simple gesture that represented a highly meaningful moment.

It was the first launch of a heritage boat on Lifou in generations, an event that united the island’s three chiefly clans in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has spearheaded a initiative that seeks to restore ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Many heritage vessels have been built in an initiative designed to reconnect native Kanak communities with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “opening of discussions” around sea access rights and conservation measures.

International Advocacy

This past July, he visited France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for ocean governance developed alongside and by Indigenous communities that recognise their relationship with the sea.

“Forefathers always crossed the sea. We forgot that knowledge for a period,” Tikoure explains. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Traditional vessels hold deep cultural importance in New Caledonia. They once represented travel, interaction and family cooperations across islands, but those traditions faded under colonial rule and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

His journey commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to bring back traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure collaborated with the government and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as Kenu Waan project – was established.

“The biggest challenge was not harvesting timber, it was persuading communities,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The program worked to bring back traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to enhance cultural identity and regional collaboration.

To date, the organization has produced an exhibition, released a publication and facilitated the construction or restoration of around 30 canoes – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Material Advantages

Unlike many other oceanic nations where tree loss has reduced timber supplies, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for carving large hulls.

“In other places, they often use marine plywood. Locally, we can still carve solid logs,” he states. “That represents a crucial distinction.”

The canoes created under the initiative combine oceanic vessel shapes with Melanesian rigging.

Educational Expansion

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been instructing navigation and ancestral craft methods at the University of New Caledonia.

“This marks the initial occasion these topics are included at master’s level. This isn’t academic – it’s something I’ve experienced. I’ve navigated major waters on these vessels. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Regional Collaboration

He voyaged with the team of the Fijian vessel, the Pacific vessel that traveled to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Throughout the region, through various islands, this represents a unified effort,” he explains. “We’re restoring the sea together.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to present a “Indigenous perspective of the sea” when he had discussions with Macron and government representatives.

Before state and overseas representatives, he argued for collaborative ocean management based on Indigenous traditions and local engagement.

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

Modern Adaptation

Today, when navigators from throughout the region – from Fiji, Micronesia and New Zealand – arrive in Lifou, they analyze boats together, adjust the structure and eventually navigate in unison.

“It’s not about duplicating the traditional forms, we enable their progression.”

Comprehensive Vision

In his view, instructing mariners and supporting ecological regulations are connected.

“The core concept concerns public engagement: who is entitled to navigate marine territories, and what authority governs which activities take place there? The canoe function as a means to start that conversation.”