Malta has suddenly realised that many of its traditional arts and crafts are dying out, and it is indeed a shame.

But efforts are being made to ensure that they live on. A typical example is the traditional bizzilla or lace-making. One remembers a time – only about 10 years ago – when older women, especially in Gozo, would sit in the front porches chatting away making ultra-fine examples of lace doilies and a myriad of other items. Although they can still be seen, it is indeed a rarity in Malta, and even Gozo seems to have fewer of these fine lace-makers.

But we should not worry needlessly, because with a bit of effort, we can revive them. A case in point is rubble wall building. Up to a few years ago, there was real concern that the knowledge and practice of the trade was all but on its last legs. The Resources and Infrastructure Ministry organised courses and now we are seeing graduates being turned out skilled in what must be labelled the art of building walls out of rubble. It has, of course, had a positive impact on the environment, because walls are springing up all over the place that look much better than the square block limestone walls. In fact, some people are even building imitation or genuine rubble walls in front of their houses and gardens.

Perhaps MCAST, although it does organise such courses, could team up with another agency or Ministry – Gozo even – to revive lace-making.

Another traditional industry which is petering out is that of luzzu-making, as well as other crafts related to fishing. It is all too easy nowadays to buy the modern, ready-made package. And, admittedly, it might be cheaper or better value for money to do so. But with a little bit of help, one is sure that that the crafts can be kept alive. Perhaps with a little sponsorship money from one of the corporate sponsorship schemes, we could teach young people how to build those traditional boats that so typify our island. Failure to retain the genuine, by-the-book traditional boat-building would be a crime against our heritage.

Another idea could be to have a living museum in, say Marsaxlokk, where tourists and Maltese alike, especially younger children, could go and watch builders producing boats. Boat-building is a fascinating process and added to those of our unique fishing techniques – such as lampuki floats – would make a really interesting visit. We have seen examples of such living museums already, the stone work one for example.

Luzzu and dghajjes would also be a brilliant platform for R&D Environment Minister George Pullicino,who recently visited the university to see an electric boat engine being developed. There are plans to have boats shuttling across Grand Harbour from the Valletta waterfront and this could be a great opportunity to put some of our new found knowledge into practice – looking out for the environment at the same time.

Sometimes we Maltese shoot down our own ideas before they even come to fruition, but the signs are encouraging – we have a homegrown automatic tomato picker now. The key is to just try – if we don’t try we’ll never get anywhere. But again – we must balance the old with the new. Progress is beautiful, but not at the expense of tradition.