Bringing Back this Forgotten Tradition of Traditional Boat Building in the Pacific Territory

During the autumn month of October on Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was set afloat in the turquoise waters – a simple gesture that marked a profoundly important moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in living memory, an occasion that united the island’s three chiefly clans in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Mariner and advocate Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has spearheaded a project that works to resurrect traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been constructed in an effort designed to reconnect native Kanak communities with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around maritime entitlements and environmental policies.

Global Outreach

This past July, he travelled to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, calling for ocean governance developed alongside and by local tribes that honor their maritime heritage.

“Our ancestors always navigated the ocean. We abandoned that practice for a period,” Tikoure states. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Canoes hold significant historical meaning in New Caledonia. They once symbolised movement, interaction and family cooperations across islands, but those traditions diminished under foreign occupation and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

His journey commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was looking at how to bring back traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure worked with the government and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as Kenu Waan project – was established.

“The biggest challenge was not wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he explains.

Project Achievements

The Kenu Waan project aimed to restore traditional navigation techniques, mentor apprentice constructors and use vessel construction to enhance community pride and regional collaboration.

Up to now, the organization has produced an exhibition, issued a volume and enabled the creation or repair of nearly three dozen boats – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Material Advantages

Different from many other island territories where forest clearing has diminished timber supplies, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for carving large hulls.

“Elsewhere, they often employ synthetic materials. Locally, we can still craft from natural timber,” he explains. “It makes all the difference.”

The vessels built under the initiative combine oceanic vessel shapes with regional navigation methods.

Educational Expansion

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been instructing maritime travel and ancestral craft methods at the local university.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are included at master’s level. It goes beyond textbooks – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on traditional boats. I’ve cried tears of joy while accomplishing this.”

Pacific Partnerships

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

“Throughout the region, including our location, it’s the same movement,” he says. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage together.”

Political Engagement

During the summer, Tikoure journeyed to Nice, France to introduce a “Indigenous perspective of the sea” when he conferred with Macron and additional officials.

Addressing official and overseas representatives, he argued for cooperative sea policies based on Kanak custom and participation.

“It’s essential to include these communities – most importantly fishing communities.”

Current Development

Now, when sailors from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they examine vessels together, modify the design and finally sail side by side.

“We’re not simply replicating the traditional forms, we enable their progression.”

Integrated Mission

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

“The core concept concerns community participation: who has the right to travel ocean waters, and what authority governs which activities take place in these waters? Heritage boats function as a means to start that conversation.”