You would be forgiven for driving right past the Ta' Dbiegi crafts village. Glancing through the somewhat grim gates, you see a few obviously empty huts with old paint peeling off the doors, dusty shuttered windows and faded signs, unbuilt plots and weeds growing up through the few planted sections.
And yet, believe it or not, the crafts village is not a work in progress. It has been around for decades but somehow has never quite got the critical mass it needs to put itself on the map.
The tenants are trying. They have formed a tenants' association, which is now talking to Malta Enterprise to agree on a mutually acceptable statute.
But would that solve the village's problems? Recently Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo signed an agreement with the Gharb local council and Malta Enterprise involving Lm80,000 of EU funding - but the tenants were not invited to the ceremony.
"We didn't know about the agreement. Some of the tenants found out about it by accident and went along to find out what was happening. I couldn't go," said George Farrugia, the owner of Ta' Dbiegi Jewellery and the prospective vice-president of the association.
"The things in the agreement are good, such as more advertising and marketing. Do you know that at the moment, since the San Lawrenz roadworks got underway, there is only one sign to Gharb? Anything they do will be great because it is better than nothing. But I wonder whether it will be enough. And would it not have made more sense for the EU funds financing this project to have been funneled through the association?"
One of the problems seems to be the fact that the crafts village needs more tenants. There are plenty of vacant huts - although Mr Vassallo said that four new ones would be joining the existing 13. But the wait can be long... The designated president of the association, Beryl Camilleri, waited eight years until she got her hut six months ago.
It does not help that so few tourist coaches stop there, going instead to venues that afford to pay the sometimes hefty commissions expected.
"It is one thing giving a guide a little thank you. But I hear that as much as 25 per cent is sometimes demanded.
"Tourists often wear those stickers; it is not so that the tourists don't get lost but so that the commission does not get lost," he said bitterly.
Most of the tenants therefore rely on the tourists and locals staying on the island in hotels or farmhouses, rather than day trippers, and try to build up a regular clientele by offering a personalized service.
This is not the first time the village has been upgraded. An upgrade of the estate was started around 1998 but Mr Farrugia believes that things have moved far too slowly. There are rumours that a bar will soon be opening, something they feel should have happened years ago.
"There was a basic one some time ago but since it closed, visitors have no reason to stop and linger here. This is why we would want to see attractions for children, for example, scattered around, to draw visitors to all the corners of the village," Mr Farrugia said, stopping to serve a tourist who had wanted a piece of jewellery customised.
They have plenty of ideas, ranging from colourful flagpoles, to playground equipment.
"We hope that Malta Enterprise will get back to us soon about the association. Everything seems to take so long!" Mr Farrugia said.
Katrin Formosa - Gozo Pottery Barn
"I have been here 20 years. We have so much to offer but no one has heard about us! I would have closed down a long time ago had it not been for the local clientele I have built up. My designs are based on traditional pieces; in fact, I get inspiration from the archaeological museum. Most of my things are made to order although I do abstract ceramic art, mosaics and so on. I also teach at the local school.
"And yet coaches never come here. Tourists end up buying souvenirs made in China! Those tourists who come here - usually by self-drive car - tend to return because they are so pleased to find something genuine!"
John Grech - Inkwina
"I used to work on lifts but four years ago decided to turn my hobby into my job. I am now a tinsmith, mostly making things to order. It is very hard being a sole operator... But people like to see that things are hand-made. It takes seven hours for me to make this candle-holder as it is all hand-painted... I am not after mass production. Many people want quality and not quantity."
"I would like to see the village work as a complete package. We really need to have a bar and it would be better if there were more crafts on offer. And of course, it needs good marketing to attract people."
Catherine Borg (Beryl Camilleri's daughter) - The Candlemaker
"Most of us had shops in Victoria before we came here but it helps to have somewhere that you can set up a workshop where visitors can watch you create.
"Hand-made goods are always more expensive than imports so it is important for people to see them being made as it is what adds value... We make all our candles from beeswax and are always creating new shapes and colours and ways to present them.
"I hope that the huts opposite the gate get taken soon. When people drive past the first thing they see are the closed ones!"
And yet, believe it or not, the crafts village is not a work in progress. It has been around for decades but somehow has never quite got the critical mass it needs to put itself on the map.
The tenants are trying. They have formed a tenants' association, which is now talking to Malta Enterprise to agree on a mutually acceptable statute.
But would that solve the village's problems? Recently Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo signed an agreement with the Gharb local council and Malta Enterprise involving Lm80,000 of EU funding - but the tenants were not invited to the ceremony.
"We didn't know about the agreement. Some of the tenants found out about it by accident and went along to find out what was happening. I couldn't go," said George Farrugia, the owner of Ta' Dbiegi Jewellery and the prospective vice-president of the association.
"The things in the agreement are good, such as more advertising and marketing. Do you know that at the moment, since the San Lawrenz roadworks got underway, there is only one sign to Gharb? Anything they do will be great because it is better than nothing. But I wonder whether it will be enough. And would it not have made more sense for the EU funds financing this project to have been funneled through the association?"
One of the problems seems to be the fact that the crafts village needs more tenants. There are plenty of vacant huts - although Mr Vassallo said that four new ones would be joining the existing 13. But the wait can be long... The designated president of the association, Beryl Camilleri, waited eight years until she got her hut six months ago.
It does not help that so few tourist coaches stop there, going instead to venues that afford to pay the sometimes hefty commissions expected.
"It is one thing giving a guide a little thank you. But I hear that as much as 25 per cent is sometimes demanded.
"Tourists often wear those stickers; it is not so that the tourists don't get lost but so that the commission does not get lost," he said bitterly.
Most of the tenants therefore rely on the tourists and locals staying on the island in hotels or farmhouses, rather than day trippers, and try to build up a regular clientele by offering a personalized service.
This is not the first time the village has been upgraded. An upgrade of the estate was started around 1998 but Mr Farrugia believes that things have moved far too slowly. There are rumours that a bar will soon be opening, something they feel should have happened years ago.
"There was a basic one some time ago but since it closed, visitors have no reason to stop and linger here. This is why we would want to see attractions for children, for example, scattered around, to draw visitors to all the corners of the village," Mr Farrugia said, stopping to serve a tourist who had wanted a piece of jewellery customised.
They have plenty of ideas, ranging from colourful flagpoles, to playground equipment.
"We hope that Malta Enterprise will get back to us soon about the association. Everything seems to take so long!" Mr Farrugia said.
Katrin Formosa - Gozo Pottery Barn
"I have been here 20 years. We have so much to offer but no one has heard about us! I would have closed down a long time ago had it not been for the local clientele I have built up. My designs are based on traditional pieces; in fact, I get inspiration from the archaeological museum. Most of my things are made to order although I do abstract ceramic art, mosaics and so on. I also teach at the local school.
"And yet coaches never come here. Tourists end up buying souvenirs made in China! Those tourists who come here - usually by self-drive car - tend to return because they are so pleased to find something genuine!"
John Grech - Inkwina
"I used to work on lifts but four years ago decided to turn my hobby into my job. I am now a tinsmith, mostly making things to order. It is very hard being a sole operator... But people like to see that things are hand-made. It takes seven hours for me to make this candle-holder as it is all hand-painted... I am not after mass production. Many people want quality and not quantity."
"I would like to see the village work as a complete package. We really need to have a bar and it would be better if there were more crafts on offer. And of course, it needs good marketing to attract people."
Catherine Borg (Beryl Camilleri's daughter) - The Candlemaker
"Most of us had shops in Victoria before we came here but it helps to have somewhere that you can set up a workshop where visitors can watch you create.
"Hand-made goods are always more expensive than imports so it is important for people to see them being made as it is what adds value... We make all our candles from beeswax and are always creating new shapes and colours and ways to present them.
"I hope that the huts opposite the gate get taken soon. When people drive past the first thing they see are the closed ones!"