🔗 Share this article

In October on Lifou, a traditional twin-hulled vessel was launched 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 generations, an occasion that brought together the island’s main family lineages in a rare show of unity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was instrumental in the launch. For the last eight years, he has led a project that works to resurrect ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been constructed in an effort intended to reunite local Kanak populations with their maritime heritage. Tikoure states the boats also promote the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

In July, he journeyed to France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for maritime regulations created in consultation with and by native populations that recognise their connection to the ocean.

“Previous generations always crossed the sea. We forgot that knowledge for a while,” Tikoure states. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Traditional vessels hold profound traditional significance in New Caledonia. They once stood for travel, exchange and tribal partnerships across islands, but those practices diminished under foreign occupation and missionary influences.

Tradition Revival

The initiative began in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to restore heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure partnered with the authorities and following a two-year period the canoe construction project – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was born.

“The hardest part didn’t involve cutting down trees, it was persuading communities,” he notes.

Initiative Accomplishments

The program worked to bring back traditional navigation techniques, mentor apprentice constructors and use canoe-making to strengthen community pride and inter-island cooperation.

To date, the organization has organized a showcase, released a publication and supported the building or renovation of around 30 canoes – from the far south to the northeastern coast.

Natural Resources

Different from many other oceanic nations where forest clearing has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“In other places, they often work with synthetic materials. Here, we can still work with whole trees,” he states. “This creates all the difference.”

The boats built under the Kenu Waan Project merge oceanic vessel shapes with Melanesian rigging.

Teaching Development

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been instructing maritime travel and traditional construction history at the educational institution.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are offered at master’s level. It’s not theory – this is knowledge I’ve lived. I’ve sailed vast distances on these canoes. I’ve cried tears of joy while accomplishing this.”

Island Cooperation

He traveled with the members of the Fijian vessel, the Pacific vessel that sailed to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Throughout the region, from Fiji to here, this represents a unified effort,” he states. “We’re restoring the ocean together.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure travelled to the French city to introduce a “Traditional understanding of the marine environment” when he met with Macron and other leaders.

In front of government and overseas representatives, he argued for collaborative ocean management based on local practices and community involvement.

“You have to involve these communities – most importantly fishing communities.”

Contemporary Evolution

Today, when mariners from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – arrive in Lifou, they analyze boats collectively, refine the construction and eventually navigate in unison.

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

Comprehensive Vision

For Tikoure, educating sailors and advocating environmental policy are linked.

“The core concept concerns public engagement: what permissions exist to move across the sea, and who determines what occurs in these waters? Heritage boats is a way to start that conversation.”