SUVA, Fiji— Though it has been more than 15 years since Korovou Vakaloloma built a traditional Fijian canoe, he does not need to refer to any blueprints.

“It’s all right here, eh,” he said with a laugh, pointing at his head and continuing to sand the boat’s mahogany hull.

Mr. Vakaloloma, 61, who is from the island of Ogea in the southern Lau archipelago of Fiji, has spent the last few months in the boatyard at the School of Maritime Studies, part of Fiji National University, working on a prototype for a new canoe that could be both economically and environmentally sustainable for the island nation. Read more