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During the autumn month of October on Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the turquoise waters – a simple gesture that represented a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the first launch of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in living memory, an event that assembled 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 previous eight-year period, he has overseen a initiative that seeks to restore ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been built in an initiative intended to reunite local Kanak populations with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure explains the boats also promote the “opening of discussions” around sea access rights and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

This past July, he journeyed to France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, calling for ocean governance developed alongside and by local tribes that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

“Our ancestors always crossed the sea. We lost that for a while,” Tikoure states. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Canoes hold profound traditional meaning in New Caledonia. They once represented movement, trade and clan alliances across islands, but those practices faded under foreign occupation and missionary influences.

Heritage Restoration

His journey began in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to reintroduce traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure partnered with the government and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was launched.

“The hardest part didn’t involve harvesting timber, it was persuading communities,” he says.

Initiative Accomplishments

The initiative aimed to restore traditional navigation techniques, train young builders and use vessel construction to enhance traditional heritage and regional collaboration.

Up to now, the group has organized a showcase, issued a volume and facilitated the building or renovation of nearly three dozen boats – from Goro to the northern shoreline.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other island territories where tree loss has reduced wood resources, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for carving large hulls.

“In other places, they often work with synthetic materials. Here, we can still work with whole trees,” he explains. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

The canoes built under the initiative combine traditional boat forms with Melanesian rigging.

Educational Expansion

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been teaching navigation and heritage building techniques at the educational institution.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are offered at advanced education. It goes beyond textbooks – these are experiences I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on traditional boats. I’ve experienced profound emotion during these journeys.”

Regional Collaboration

He traveled with the crew of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Throughout the region, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he explains. “We’re restoring the ocean together.”

Policy Advocacy

During the summer, Tikoure visited Nice, France to present a “Traditional understanding of the sea” when he met with Macron and additional officials.

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

“You have to involve them – especially fishing communities.”

Modern Adaptation

Now, when mariners from throughout the region – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – come to Lifou, they examine vessels together, adjust the structure and eventually sail side by side.

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

Comprehensive Vision

According to Tikoure, instructing mariners and supporting ecological regulations are interrelated.

“The fundamental issue involves public engagement: who is entitled to navigate marine territories, and what authority governs what happens there? Traditional vessels is a way to start that conversation.”