Over a number of holidays to see his parents here Roger Castillo, a Maltese then living in England, noted that there were few quality souvenirs that were not only of Maltese character but were also made here.

Thus it was that, when he settled back in Malta towards the end of 1989, he established - in partnership with Anna Demajo - Heritage Homes Ltd. to produce hand-made and hand-painted miniature buildings of the Maltese Islands. Although already familiar with some of the aspects of the craft, Roger undertook a four-month apprenticeship with a major UK producer.

Finding potential subjects for inclusion in the Heritage Homes range involves a lot of walking! "Some villages we can cover in a couple of hours", explains Anna. "Others may require several visits and as much as 15 hours walking. Malta and Gozo are full of inspiration and we have built up a library of over 3000 photographs of buildings and various features such as ventilators, niches, rubble walls, etc. Once a subject has been selected we prepare detailed drawings and these - with the photographs - are passed to the sculptor who will make an original master from French wax. We engage the services of various prominent sculptors, among them the Debono family, better known here and abroad for the exquisite hand-painted pewter figurines they produce.

When all parties are satisfied with the master it goes to the Heritage Homes studios where Roger and his assistant create the infrastructure that will produce the moulds. The final product is made from a plaster purposely blended by British Gypsum for this type of work. Even most of the paint is imported directly from a specialist manufacturer. There are nearly 50 pieces in the range now, one of the latest to be introduced being 'Maltese woman wearing a faldetta', the first in a range of figurines of Maltese characters.

Asked about what provided the greatest satisfaction Anna replied, "A number of things really: how pleasantly surprised people were to discover that the Heritage Homes range was made in Malta, and how it made them aware how much there was to appreciate in our towns, villages and countryside. We also believe that our small craft enterprises have been encouraged to improve the quality of their own products."