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In October on the island of Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was launched into the coastal lagoon – a small act that signified a profoundly important moment.

It was the first launch of a heritage boat on Lifou in many decades, an gathering that assembled the island’s main family lineages in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the last eight years, he has led a project that seeks to restore traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Many heritage vessels have been built in an effort designed to reconnect native Kanak communities with their maritime heritage. Tikoure says the boats also help the “beginning of dialogue” around ocean rights and ecological regulations.

Diplomatic Efforts

During the summer month of July, he travelled to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for marine policies shaped with and by local tribes that recognise their connection to the ocean.

“Previous generations always navigated the ocean. We abandoned that practice for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Canoes hold significant historical importance in New Caledonia. They once represented movement, exchange and family cooperations across islands, but those practices declined under colonisation and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

This mission started in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was exploring how to restore ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure collaborated with the authorities and following a two-year period the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was born.

“The most difficult aspect didn’t involve wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Project Achievements

The Kenu Waan project sought to revive heritage voyaging practices, train young builders and use vessel construction to strengthen cultural identity and regional collaboration.

So far, the group has produced an exhibition, issued a volume and enabled the building or renovation of around 30 canoes – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

Different from many other Pacific islands where tree loss has limited lumber availability, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“Elsewhere, they often work with modern composites. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he explains. “That represents all the difference.”

The boats created under the program merge oceanic vessel shapes with local sailing systems.

Teaching Development

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been teaching maritime travel and traditional construction history at the University of New Caledonia.

“It’s the first time these subjects are offered at graduate studies. It’s not theory – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on these vessels. I’ve experienced profound emotion doing it.”

Pacific Partnerships

He traveled with the crew of the Uto ni Yalo, the Pacific vessel that traveled to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, including our location, it’s the same movement,” he explains. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage collectively.”

Political Engagement

In July, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to share a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he met with Macron and other leaders.

Addressing official and international delegates, he pushed for shared maritime governance based on local practices and community involvement.

“We must engage them – most importantly people dependent on marine resources.”

Current Development

Now, when navigators from across the Pacific – from Fiji, Micronesia and Aotearoa – arrive in Lifou, they study canoes collectively, adjust the structure and eventually sail side by side.

“It’s not about duplicating the traditional forms, we make them evolve.”

Comprehensive Vision

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

“The core concept concerns public engagement: who has the right to move across the sea, and who decides which activities take place in these waters? Heritage boats is a way to begin that dialogue.”