18-foot crochet Christmas tree at Museum of Goa

By Raju Vernekar
Panaji: The 18-feet crochet Christmas tree stitched by 25 women with the help of a civil engineer under the banner
of the “Crochet Collective Goa” will remain for public viewing till January 18,2026, at the Museum of Goa, after
which the squares may be repurposed into blankets and sold
To raise funds for the local orphanages.
The tree is a result of collective intent. Standing 18 feet tall from base to star, with a two-foot topper and an eight-
foot diameter, it rests on a steel framework donated by a young civil engineer.
Built entirely from hand-crocheted yarn, the tree is made up of more than a thousand individual pieces, stitched
together with care. Instead of relying on mass-produced décor, it celebrates craft, reuse, and a slower, more
thoughtful approach to celebration.
The Christmas tree glows without shine. Its surface is uneven by design because it was made in different homes, by
different hands, over weeks. The tree’s layered colors and vivid energy make it impossible to miss, inviting people
of all ages and backgrounds to pause, look, and admire.
This is Goa’s first large-scale crochet Christmas tree, an installation created by The Crochet Collective, Goa, led by
Sheena Pereira, Sharmila Majumdar, and Sophy V Sivaraman, and made by more than twenty-five women who
came together over three months to build something none of them could have made alone.
Andria Reny Afonso, Alicia D’Souza, Arlene Saldanha, Carol Braganza, Celia Menezes, Deepa Bharne, Julie
fernandes, Desiree Albuquerque, Elvina Mendes Sequeira, Ermelina Pereira, Freda Coutinho E D’Souza, Hilda
Maria Vaz, Iris Menezes, Jennifer Fernandes, Lalita Braganca, Louisa Rebello, Lorna Menezes, Michelle Da Costa
Gomes, Minnette Andrade, Queenie Furtado, Thresa Dias, Yasmin BM Abranches, and others, worked on the tree
and brought more than skill to the project, Sharmila Majumdar said.
These women from across Goa crocheted every component. When the pieces were ready but had nothing to hold
them up, a civil engineer stepped in and built the metal frame, donating the structure and the logistics needed to
move it. The assembling of the tree took place at Sharmila’s home, much like a giant Lego project, where the metal
frame stood waiting. The museum’s curator made space for it, backed the idea, and allowed the work to unfold
without compressing it into a spectacle.
The women did not outsource labor. The engineer did not bill for materials. The museum did not treat the tree as a
prop. Each part depended on the other, and none of them functioned without trust.
The project emerged almost accidentally. In August, crocheters across Goa —bankers, teachers, retirees, home-
based entrepreneurs, women in their 30s through their 60s — responded to a simple WhatsApp call put out by
crocheter Sheena Pereira.
Their work found its perfect home when the Museum of Goa (MOG) invited the collective to exhibit the piece as
part of its milestone 10th anniversary exhibition, Festivals of Goa. MOG’s exhibition celebrates nearly 50 micro-

festivals of Goa, from well-known feasts to lesser-known village rituals shaped by layers of Hindu, Catholic, and
regional traditions. In any case Goa’s culture is mosaic.