🔗 Share this article

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

It was the inaugural voyage of a traditional canoe on Lifou in generations, an event that united the island’s primary tribal groups in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the past 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 project aimed at reconnecting local Kanak populations with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure states the boats also facilitate the “opening of discussions” around sea access rights and environmental policies.

International Advocacy

This past July, he visited France and met President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for maritime regulations developed alongside and by native populations that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

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

Canoes hold profound traditional significance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised movement, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those traditions diminished under foreign occupation and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

This mission commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was exploring how to reintroduce ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure partnered with the administration and after two years the boat building initiative – known as Project Kenu Waan – was established.

“The hardest part wasn’t wood collection, it was persuading communities,” he says.

Initiative Accomplishments

The initiative aimed to restore ancestral sailing methods, mentor apprentice constructors and use canoe-making to reinforce traditional heritage and island partnerships.

To date, the team has created a display, issued a volume and facilitated the creation or repair of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to the northern shoreline.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other island territories where tree loss has diminished wood resources, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for crafting substantial vessels.

“There, they often employ marine plywood. In our location, we can still craft from natural timber,” he says. “That represents all the difference.”

The vessels built under the program combine Polynesian hull design with regional navigation methods.

Educational Expansion

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

“For the first time ever these topics are included at advanced education. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on these vessels. I’ve experienced profound emotion doing it.”

Regional Collaboration

He voyaged with the members of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that sailed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

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

Policy Advocacy

This past July, Tikoure journeyed to the European location to present a “Kanak vision of the ocean” when he conferred with Macron and other leaders.

Before state and foreign officials, he argued for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and local engagement.

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

Contemporary Evolution

Currently, when sailors from throughout the region – from Fiji, Micronesia and New Zealand – arrive in Lifou, they examine vessels collectively, refine the construction and finally voyage together.

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

Comprehensive Vision

For Tikoure, instructing mariners and supporting ecological regulations are connected.

“It’s all about community participation: who has the right to travel ocean waters, and who determines what happens in these waters? Traditional vessels function as a means to begin that dialogue.”