A chance encounter with a traditional grocer in the tranquil village of Safi three years ago led to the production of a coffee-table book: Disappearing Malta – Crafts, Trades & Traditions 360°.
Featured in the book are 28 characters who were photographed by Enrico Formica in their workshops while they were at their jobs. The crafts and trades covered include tinsmiths and blacksmiths; a fisherman and rope splicer, a silversmith, the last maker of caps for uniforms, a shoemaker, a bazaar owner and model makers.
Miranda Publications director Eddie Aquilina recalled meeting Lina Zammit as she called for help to handle a sizeable box at her grocery door. He went to her assistance, eventually ending up in her shop, which has been providing a service to the villagers for 170 years, where he was welcomed with open arms.
He still remembers going to a supermarket the next day, noticing the big difference between the service he got there and how patrons were served at Ms Zammit’s tiny outlet.
“With Lina I was not just a number. I received a service with a smile. She made me sit down and speak. The clock had been turned back at least 40 years. During our brief chat, Lina admitted that, once she’s gone, the 170-year-old grocery, handed down from her grandmother to her father would be closed forever, completely wiped out of memory.
“I realised I had to document such people, crafts and traditions before it was too late. So I went back and set the ball rolling,” he said.
Mr Aquilina loves going around towns and villages and is always keen to find traditions that are being lost as technology takes over.
“One of the tradesmen interviewed for the book said his children were not interested in plying the trade and getting their hands dirty. Thus, a number of traditions will be lost completely in the coming years,” he noted.
Research, interviews and writing the text for the book, published by Miranda Publishers, were done by freelance writer Fiona Vella. The book, whose consultant editor is Geoffrey Aquilina Ross, is dedicated to the late Maurice Degiorgio.
Mr Aquilina has already started working on the second volume and has invited anybody with knowledge of a disappearing craft, trade or tradition to call him on 9947 3164.