Page 37 - Fiji Traveller Issue 3

P. 37

Jack Isaac Junior’s woodcarving skill is an inherent family is the same," Junior notes.
talent that is shared by his clan, and their relationship “When I used to come home from school and watch
with Jack's of Fiji is an extraordinary one that has lasted my dad carve, I used to think it was boring, and I thought
generations. back then that I don’t really like that type of work," he
“My grandfather and father used to sell their carvings recalls.
at Jack's Handicraft, back when it was just a small shop,” But that changed as he matured. "As I grew up, the
Junior recalls. interest grew; so one day I picked up a small piece of
“The owners wanted to introduce some wood carving wood and a chisel and started carving a very small
to test it out, and it became very popular, so you could object."
say my family has been part of Jack's Handicraft from the Then he realised that his talent for carving could be
beginning." a source of income. "In 2003, I stayed home one day. I
The relationship—now into its third generation and picked up one piece of wood and I carved one small war
counting—is built on mutual respect and shared benefits club. That time, we were in Navua.
for the partners. “So I went with my dad, and the cost of that small
“For the last 20 to 22 years since I dropped out of war club was $25. Back then, that was a lot of money,
school, carving has been a source of income in the family. [and] that was the first money I got from Jack’s through
I have been supporting my three children and wife with carving.”
the money I earn from selling my carvings to Jack’s. According to the head of the handicrafts product
“The beauty about this is that I’m my own boss; I work category at Jack’s of Fiji, Shalveen Sachin Prasad, the
at my own time and pace rather than your normal eight- to relationship between the suppliers of wood carvers and
five-day jobs," he said. Jack's is unique.
Carving out a teach me how to carve, and my grandfather didn’t teach so they are like family to me. We joke around, but at the
“More than half of my job is dealing with our carvers,
Junior learnt his craft by osmosis. “My father didn’t
my father; he just observed and did it."
same time there is a lot of respect for one another,” he
It will likely be the same story for the next generation.
says.
"I will not teach my children; like all of us and the other
This relationship comes in handy when carvers are
faced with challenges such as accessing the vesi wood.
young boys in the village, they will need to observe and
"There is a saying, ‘you have wood, you have money,'”
future, and a past learn themselves if they want to carve," Junior said. Junior says. “And that is one of the greatest challenges
To walk around the village settlement close to Nadi is to
be in awe of the talent on display. Teenagers and young
we face. We have to go to Navuto village in Nadroga;
we have to drive up the mountains and walk down to the
men sit in groups, transforming simple slabs of 'vesi' wood
(a high-value native wood they work with) into the works
of art you see in Jack's stores. river bank where the vesi grow. So sometimes when we
are handed an order from Jack’s, they give a percentage
In order to understand this unique, raw talent, you need just to help us go get the wood.”
to understand their family lineage. The carving process is difficult, and supplying major
Junior and his family's traditional role in the village is retail shops like Jack's will mean that suppliers have to
'Mataisau'. A Mataisau is the family of builders in the meet quality standards that match the price.
village, and they can carve anything from tanoa (kava With quiet pride, Junior says what sets the wood
bowls), war clubs and canoes, right up to houses in the carvings available at Jack's apart from other vendors
village. They are entrusted with this work by the high is “the quality, the type of wood, the details on the
chiefs and villagers. carvings. The quality of work will always match the
"Wood carving is in my blood; I was not taught how to price."
do it; it was my God-given talent, and everyone in my