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In October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was launched into the lagoon – a simple gesture that marked a highly meaningful moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in generations, an event that brought together the island’s primary tribal groups in a uncommon display of togetherness.

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

Many heritage vessels have been built in an initiative aimed at reconnecting native Kanak communities with their maritime heritage. Tikoure explains the boats also promote the “beginning of dialogue” around maritime entitlements and ecological regulations.

International Advocacy

During the summer month of July, he visited France and met President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for marine policies developed alongside and by local tribes that recognise their relationship with the sea.

“Forefathers always navigated the ocean. We lost that for a time,” Tikoure explains. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold deep cultural importance in New Caledonia. They once represented travel, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those customs diminished under colonisation and missionary influences.

Heritage Restoration

His journey started in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was considering how to reintroduce traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure worked with the government and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was launched.

“The hardest part wasn’t wood collection, it was convincing people,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The initiative aimed to restore ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to strengthen traditional heritage and regional collaboration.

So far, the team has created a display, published a book and facilitated the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from the southern region to the northern shoreline.

Material Advantages

In contrast to many other Pacific islands where forest clearing has limited lumber availability, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for carving large hulls.

“There, they often use synthetic materials. In our location, we can still craft from natural timber,” he says. “It makes a significant advantage.”

The canoes constructed under the initiative combine oceanic vessel shapes with Melanesian rigging.

Teaching Development

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been teaching navigation and ancestral craft methods at the University of New Caledonia.

“This marks the initial occasion these subjects are offered at advanced education. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve sailed vast distances on traditional boats. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness during these journeys.”

Pacific Partnerships

Tikoure sailed with the crew of the Fijian vessel, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

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

Governance Efforts

In July, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to share a “Traditional understanding of the ocean” when he had discussions with Macron and government representatives.

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

“We must engage them – especially fishing communities.”

Contemporary Evolution

Now, when navigators from various island nations – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and New Zealand – visit Lifou, they examine vessels together, refine the construction and eventually sail side by side.

“We don’t just copy the old models, we enable their progression.”

Integrated Mission

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

“The fundamental issue involves public engagement: who is entitled to move across the sea, and who decides what occurs in these waters? Heritage boats is a way to initiate that discussion.”