🔗 Share this article

In October on Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the turquoise waters – a simple gesture that marked a highly meaningful moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in living memory, an gathering that united the island’s primary tribal groups 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 works to resurrect traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Many heritage vessels have been crafted in an initiative designed to reconnect local Kanak populations with their maritime heritage. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

During the summer month of July, he journeyed to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for ocean governance shaped with and by native populations that honor their relationship with the sea.

“Previous generations always traveled by water. We forgot that knowledge for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold profound traditional meaning in New Caledonia. They once symbolised movement, exchange and family cooperations across islands, but those traditions diminished under colonisation and religious conversion efforts.

Tradition Revival

This mission commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was exploring how to restore traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure worked with the administration and two years later the canoe construction project – known as Kenu Waan project – was launched.

“The hardest part didn’t involve harvesting timber, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Initiative Accomplishments

The Kenu Waan project worked to bring back ancestral sailing methods, train young builders and use vessel construction to reinforce cultural identity and inter-island cooperation.

Up to now, the team has created a display, published a book and facilitated the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from Goro to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

Unlike many other oceanic nations where forest clearing has diminished wood resources, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for carving large hulls.

“There, they often use modern composites. In our location, we can still carve solid logs,” he says. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

The boats built under the Kenu Waan Project merge Polynesian hull design with local sailing systems.

Teaching Development

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been teaching navigation and traditional construction history at the University of New Caledonia.

“For the first time ever these subjects are included at master’s level. This isn’t academic – these are experiences I’ve experienced. I’ve navigated major waters on traditional boats. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Pacific Partnerships

Tikoure sailed with the team of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that sailed to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, including our location, it’s the same movement,” he states. “We’re taking back the ocean together.”

Governance Efforts

This past July, Tikoure visited Nice, France to share a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he had discussions with Macron and government representatives.

In front of government and overseas representatives, he advocated for shared maritime governance based on Kanak custom and participation.

“It’s essential to include them – especially fishing communities.”

Modern Adaptation

Currently, when navigators from throughout the region – from Fiji, Micronesia and New Zealand – visit Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, modify the design and eventually sail side by side.

“We don’t just copy the traditional forms, we enable their progression.”

Holistic Approach

For Tikoure, educating sailors and supporting ecological regulations are linked.

“The core concept concerns how we involve people: who is entitled to move across the sea, and what authority governs what happens in these waters? Traditional vessels is a way to start that conversation.”