A coronary heart assault pushed Goa’s Xavier Fernandes to pursue his ardour for crafting wonderful Christmas cribs from driftwood discovered on the seaside.
Straying away from the common presents just like the sugar-loaded sweets and fancy desserts which are part of Christmas custom, Goa’s Saturnino Rodrigues zeroed in on a singular answer.
The reply? Cribs made out of driftwood to loosen up his family members. However what left him so fascinated was the individuality of the wooden used to carve these cribs.
“Driftwood is mature wooden that’s discovered floating within the sea. The wooden makes these presents final because it doesn’t get rotten and develop into a memorable reward for others,” the 60-year-old, who purchased three Christmas cribs from their maker, Xavier Fernandes, tells The Higher India.
“With folks changing into well being aware, it’s not a really beneficial alternative to supply sweets and desserts that price hundreds. I consider that cribs might develop into the finest presents that we might give to someone,” he provides.
Saturnino opines that Xavier is well-known within the area for his cribs. “His artworks are so fascinating. From selectively selecting driftwood when it comes to its form and high quality to conceptualising the ultimate creative product is intriguing,” he provides.
We sat down with Xavier to learn the way he crafts probably the most beautiful Christmas cribs.
‘Now, I knew I wanted to cease’
After finishing his education in commerce, Xavier needed to pursue greater research however he was compelled to drop out of faculty due to household’s monetary crises. Earlier than venturing into craftworks, he labored overseas for about 25 years in a number of international locations, together with Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and Oman.
Beginning with a menial job in courier service, he upgraded himself to an administrative function in an oilfield firm in Oman. However the work, Xavier says, was too taxing.
About six years again in 2017, the 54-year-old had a cardiac arrest.
“I used to be dwelling alone. My mates needed to rush me to the hospital. I didn’t need to work abroad anymore. I needed to return to India, to my household. Additionally, the oilfield firm doesn’t allow folks with cardiovascular points to work. So, anyway, I moved again to Goa,” he says.
Coming again to his household, he took his time to resort to a wholesome, stress-free life-style.
“Submit the center assault, my blood stress saved capturing up at times. Now, I knew I wanted to cease. So, I made a decision to take an early retirement,” he provides.
Amid all this, Xavier would continuously go to the seaside to seek out solace. And right here’s the place he discovered his life’s function.
Reuniting along with his lengthy misplaced craft on the seaside
It was a wet day in September 2018 when Xavier stumbled upon a log that had drifted from the seashore. “I picked it up and saved analysing it for a while. That is once I remembered how I used to carve craft objects from wooden in my childhood identical to my father,” he shares.
“My father was very creative. He was a authorities servant however he used to seek out a while to make craft objects. I used to look at him making art work utilizing coconut shells and wooden,” he recollects.
That day, Xavier introduced the log of wooden house. As Christmas was across the nook, he tried to carve cribs out of the wooden. Final 12 months, he ventured into commercialising these cribs and managed to promote 80 models.
Explaining the method of carving cribs from driftwood, he says, “Since January, I begin accumulating driftwood. As I get all types of wooden from the ocean, I selectively select driftwood as per their weight. This sort of wooden could be very mature and lasts for years.”
“After taking them house, I dip them in clear water, peel their pores and skin, after which hold them within the daylight to dry. Round October, I begin carving crafts from wooden. Later, I varnish and polish the wooden to provide it a shiny look and shield it from scratches,” he provides.
After the ultimate product is prepared, Xavier decorates the cribs with miniatures of Jesus Christ, Mom Mary, and the clever males. Other than the cribs, he additionally makes artwork items like wells, wall clocks, miniature bullock carts, and racks with pottery from driftwood.
Xavier says that it takes him as much as three days to make a crib. “I strive to not have an analogous search for all my cribs. It anyway will depend on the driftwood additionally. It is vitally intrinsic work and requires loads of persistence, approach, and ability. It isn’t simple to carve creative works from a log of wooden. It might look simple to make, nevertheless it requires loads of detailing,” he provides.
With the assistance of his household and neighbours, Xavier has managed to promote his cribs in Mumbai and to Canada and the UK.
Despite the fact that right now Xavier dedicates as much as 12 hours a day to crafting handmade cribs, he’s fascinated by this long-lost ardour. “In my earlier jobs, I used to work for about eight hours a day. However the desk job was very annoying. At present, I don’t get exhausted even whether it is about accumulating wooden by strolling for so far as 5 kilometres,” he says.
“It provides me immense satisfaction and happiness once I see the ultimate product. I’m able to pursue my childhood ardour and earn an earnings out of it at this age – what may be extra wonderful than that?” he asks.
Edited by Padmashree Pande. All pictures: Xavier Fernandes, Saturnino Rodrigues.
