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This past October on Lifou island, a traditional twin-hulled vessel was launched into the coastal lagoon – a small act that represented a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in many decades, an occasion that assembled the island’s three chiefly clans in a rare show of unity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has led a project that works to resurrect traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been crafted in an initiative aimed at reconnecting Indigenous Kanak people with their maritime heritage. Tikoure says the boats also facilitate the “start of conversation” around ocean rights and environmental policies.

Global Outreach

In July, he journeyed to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for marine policies created in consultation with and by local tribes that acknowledge their connection to the ocean.

“Previous generations always navigated the ocean. We forgot that knowledge for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Heritage boats hold deep cultural importance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised movement, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those customs faded under colonisation and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

His journey started 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 after two years the vessel restoration program – known as Kenu Waan project – was established.

“The most difficult aspect was not wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Program Successes

The program worked to bring back traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use vessel construction to strengthen traditional heritage and regional collaboration.

To date, the group has created a display, issued a volume and facilitated the creation or repair of approximately thirty vessels – from the far south to the northeastern coast.

Resource Benefits

Different from many other oceanic nations where forest clearing has diminished timber supplies, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for carving large hulls.

“There, they often employ modern composites. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he states. “This creates a crucial distinction.”

The boats constructed under the program integrate oceanic vessel shapes with Melanesian rigging.

Academic Integration

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been teaching maritime travel and ancestral craft methods at the local university.

“It’s the first time these topics are taught at master’s level. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on these canoes. I’ve experienced profound emotion during these journeys.”

Island Cooperation

He traveled with the team of the Uto ni Yalo, the Pacific vessel that journeyed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Throughout the region, from Fiji to here, it’s the same movement,” he explains. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage as a community.”

Governance Efforts

During the summer, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to share a “Kanak vision of the marine environment” when he had discussions with Macron and additional officials.

Addressing official and foreign officials, he advocated for shared maritime governance based on local practices and participation.

“It’s essential to include local populations – most importantly people dependent on marine resources.”

Current Development

Now, when navigators from various island nations – from Fiji, Micronesia and Aotearoa – arrive in Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, modify the design and eventually navigate in unison.

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

Integrated Mission

In his view, teaching navigation and supporting ecological regulations are connected.

“It’s all about how we involve people: who is entitled to navigate marine territories, and what authority governs what occurs in these waters? Traditional vessels serve as a method to start that conversation.”