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This past October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was set afloat in the lagoon – a seemingly minor event that represented a highly meaningful moment.

It was the first launch of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in many decades, an occasion that brought together the island’s three chiefly clans in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has overseen a program that works to resurrect ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been constructed in an project designed to reconnect local Kanak populations with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure says the boats also help the “start of conversation” around ocean rights and conservation measures.

Global Outreach

This past July, he travelled to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for ocean governance shaped with and by local tribes that honor their maritime heritage.

“Forefathers always traveled by water. We lost that for a while,” Tikoure says. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Traditional vessels hold deep cultural meaning in New Caledonia. They once symbolised movement, interaction and family cooperations across islands, but those customs diminished under foreign occupation and religious conversion efforts.

Tradition Revival

His journey started in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to bring back traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure partnered with the authorities and two years later the canoe construction project – known as Project Kenu Waan – was born.

“The biggest challenge didn’t involve wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Program Successes

The Kenu Waan project aimed to restore ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to enhance cultural identity and island partnerships.

So far, the team has produced an exhibition, issued a volume and facilitated the construction or restoration of around 30 canoes – from the southern region to the northeastern coast.

Material Advantages

Different from many other oceanic nations where tree loss has reduced lumber availability, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for crafting substantial vessels.

“Elsewhere, they often work with marine plywood. Here, we can still work with whole trees,” he states. “It makes a significant advantage.”

The canoes constructed under the program merge Polynesian hull design with regional navigation methods.

Teaching Development

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been educating students in maritime travel and heritage building techniques at the University of New Caledonia.

“For the first time ever these topics are offered at graduate studies. It’s not theory – it’s something I’ve lived. I’ve navigated major waters on traditional boats. I’ve cried tears of joy during these journeys.”

Regional Collaboration

He voyaged with the members of the traditional boat, the Fijian canoe that traveled to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, from Fiji to here, we’re part of a collective initiative,” he states. “We’re taking back the ocean together.”

Political Engagement

In July, Tikoure travelled to the European location to present a “Traditional understanding of the sea” when he had discussions with Macron and other leaders.

Before state and international delegates, he advocated for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and local engagement.

“We must engage local populations – particularly people dependent on marine resources.”

Contemporary Evolution

Today, when mariners from across the Pacific – from Fiji, Micronesia and New Zealand – arrive in Lifou, they study canoes collectively, adjust the structure and finally navigate in unison.

“We’re not simply replicating the ancient designs, we help them develop.”

Comprehensive Vision

According to Tikoure, instructing mariners and advocating environmental policy are interrelated.

“It’s all about community participation: who has the right to move across the sea, and who determines which activities take place in these waters? The canoe function as a means to start that conversation.”