The government has just announced a four-year Lm8 million plan to revamp the Crafts Village, and not before time.

The Crafts Village at Ta’ Qali is, quite frankly, a mess. However, one must also point out that there have been repeated plans put forward over the years which never came to fruition, mostly due to objections of those whose business is situated there. However, a satisfactory arrangement has now been made to build the village in stages, allowing tenants to continue with their work as the development goes on around them. The sticking block before was that tenants would have had to have packed up their business for a whole year while the project went ahead. It seems that now, finally, progress can be made with all relevant players satisfied.

Parliamentary secretary Edwin Vassallo did have a very pertinent point to make during the announcement of this new government venture, in that business owners there should focus on the artisan process rather than simply manufacturing items and putting them on display in a glass cabinet.

Nothing truer can be said. One only has to look at the various ornamental glass factories we have in Malta to see what he means. Most tourists who go there specifically go to watch the glass ornaments being turned and blown; they want a living experience. The same could be said for, for example, boutique jewellers at the Crafts Village. One only has to look at one’s own holiday aspirations sometimes to realise that the tourist, wherever he or she is from, wants to experience the reality of life in whichever country he or she is visiting. This should be taken into account when artisans set up their new premises once the park is completed.

Back to the project itself. It is high time that something is being done about it. Driving into the Crafts Village is quite an ordeal in itself. The roads are terrible, the pavements are unkempt and broken and it does give the impression that it is some kind of forced labour camp. What we need to do here is turn the Crafts Village into a day out. What do we mean by this? The Crafts Village needs to be somewhere where tourists and locals can go to learn how Maltese artisans make their products. It also needs child care facilities, restaurants, cafeterias and recreational areas. After all, the Crafts Village is but a stone’s throw away from the Ta’ Qali national park and should be designed in a way to complement that green space. May we suggest a large fountain in the set up. There is nothing more soothing to the harsh glare of the summer sun, than the sound of cascading water. It need not have jets of water, just a structure with water cascading down – jets would mean the fountain being turned off if it is windy. But of course, if its maintenance is not to be taken seriously, the idea should be scrapped.

The government is allocating Lm8 million to the actual upgrading of the zone and a further Lm4 million for road work.

It is also good to see that the government is making good and practical use of EU funding. In fact, the government expects to get the go-ahead from Brussels for co-funding of the road network to the effect that Lm3.5 million will be paid out of Malta’s EU budgetary package.

The Maltese are very skilled artisans and it is good to finally see that they will be getting a park that will allow them to maximise their potential. However, unless the artisans themselves realise that they are the actual attraction of the Crafts Village, then they will be pretty much stuck in the same rut they have been in for the past years. However, we are sure that once they get their new park, they will be afforded the necessary help and infrastructure to do so.