Gozitan Domenic Camilleri has really taken the recycling and reuse principles to heart. Instead of buying a tomato harvester, he decided to make one - using a 60-year-old Dodge truck as the base.
Brothers Noel and Domenic Camilleri, from Għasri, come from a long line of harvesters. They are keen to keep tradition alive in an ever-changing, modern world, and therefore devised an innovative machine to help them during the harvesting seasons.
The idea behind the machine should be specifically credited to Domenic and John Mercieca, who is a friend and colleague.
Domenic bought an old Dodge truck and, using the Perkins engine as well as the chassis, he started putting the machine together. In the process, he bought several machine parts from Italian companies, including a 40-year-old blower from a silo machine. Just six months later, it was up and running.
The harvesting machine works by means of two conveyer belts: one separates the stem and fruit from the tomato plant, while the other conveyer belt is used for quality inspection. After the machine process is over, the full crates are then transported to the Magro Brothers processing plant in Gozo.
Domenic, the elder of the two brothers, spent days and nights working on this "dream" project, often getting help from his brother Noel in the evenings after he returned from work. The harvest of tomatoes for processing is a tradition in Malta which dates back almost a century.
The scenario is not all that rosy, however. Due to various elements, including changing climate conditions, the harvesting season has gradually been reduced from the months of June to October to a few weeks between July and the beginning of September.
The Magro Brothers plant accounts for 80 per cent of the processed tomato market in Malta and Gozo, producing eight tonnes in summer alone.
Two thirds are exported to countries around the world. Along the years, Magro Brothers has established good relationship with many farmers which has led to a substantial increase in yields and quality.
The Camilleri brothers form part of the third generation of a long line of crop harvesters. Their father, the late Joseph Camilleri, was one of the pioneers in the field.
He was happy to produce 25,000 kilos from their land, which is found just beneath Ta' Ġordan Lighthouse. It used to take him about four months to harvest a twelfth of today's produce. Nowadays Noel and Domenic produce approximately 400,000 kilos from the same area of land. The tomato harvest is currently underway, with the new machine up and running. In two to three weeks' time the Camilleri brothers can gather their first crop using their innovative methods.