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This past October on Lifou island, a traditional twin-hulled vessel was pushed into the coastal lagoon – a seemingly minor event that signified a highly meaningful moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in many decades, an gathering that assembled the island’s three chiefly clans in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has spearheaded a initiative that works to resurrect heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been constructed in an project intended to reunite Indigenous Kanak people with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure explains the boats also help the “beginning of dialogue” around ocean rights and ecological regulations.

International Advocacy

This past July, he journeyed to France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, calling for ocean governance developed alongside and by native populations that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

“Our ancestors always crossed the sea. We lost that for a period,” Tikoure explains. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold profound traditional importance in New Caledonia. They once stood for travel, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those practices declined under colonisation and religious conversion efforts.

Cultural Reclamation

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was exploring how to bring back heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure worked with the administration and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was established.

“The hardest part didn’t involve cutting down trees, it was gaining local support,” he explains.

Program Successes

The Kenu Waan project sought to revive heritage voyaging practices, mentor apprentice constructors and use canoe-making to enhance cultural identity and inter-island cooperation.

To date, the organization has created a display, released a publication and facilitated the construction or restoration of around 30 canoes – from Goro to the northeastern coast.

Material Advantages

Different from many other oceanic nations where deforestation has limited timber supplies, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“Elsewhere, they often use modern composites. In our location, we can still carve solid logs,” he explains. “This creates all the difference.”

The boats constructed under the Kenu Waan Project integrate oceanic vessel shapes with Melanesian rigging.

Academic Integration

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been instructing seafaring and ancestral craft methods at the educational institution.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are taught at advanced education. This isn’t academic – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on traditional boats. I’ve cried tears of joy doing it.”

Island Cooperation

Tikoure sailed with the team of the traditional boat, the Fijian canoe that journeyed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, from Fiji to here, we’re part of a collective initiative,” he states. “We’re restoring the ocean as a community.”

Governance Efforts

In July, Tikoure visited the European location to introduce a “Indigenous perspective of the marine environment” when he had discussions with Macron and additional officials.

Before state and international delegates, he pushed for collaborative ocean management based on Kanak custom and local engagement.

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

Contemporary Evolution

Currently, when mariners from throughout the region – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they examine vessels collectively, modify the design and eventually navigate in unison.

“It’s not about duplicating the old models, we help them develop.”

Holistic Approach

In his view, educating sailors and supporting ecological regulations are linked.

“It’s all about how we involve people: who has the right to travel ocean waters, and who determines which activities take place in these waters? The canoe serve as a method to begin that dialogue.”