Nhar l-Erbgħa 5 ta' Marzu 2008 il-Ministeru għall-Affarijiet Rurali u Ambjent daħal f'management agreement mal-Koperattiva Rurali Manikata (KRM) Ltd. biex din tamministra kumpless rurali fl-inħawi tal-Manikata, fil-periferija tal-Park tal-Majjistral. Dan il-kumpless huwa magħruf bħala r-Razzett tal-Qasam, jiġifieri r-razzett li fih kienu jgħixu l-bdiewa li jaħdmu l-għelieqi tal-Qasam ta’ Għajn Tuffieħa. Huwa kumpless rurali estensiv magħmul minn numru ta’ għerien u kmamar imġarrfa.
Dokumenti notarili medjevali jagħmlu diversi referenzi għal għerien fl-inħawi ta’ Għajn Tuffieħa li kienu jintużaw biex fihom jitrabbew l-annimali, fosthom nagħaġ, mogħoż u gniedes. Fdalijiet fl-għerien tar-Razzett tal-Qasam juru li l-annimali baqgħu jitrabbew f'dan il-post sa ftit għaxriet ta’ snin ilu. Il-kmamar li hemm f'dan il-kumpless huma ta’ epoki differenti. Dan nistgħu ngħiduh minħabba t-teknika differenti użata fil-bini f'partijiet differenti tar-Razzett. Hemm possibiltà li xi partijiet tal-bini huma medjevali. Il-parti l-kbira huma ta’ żmien l-Ordni ta’ San Ġwann. Madankollu huwa diffiċli f'dan l-istadju li ngħidu ta’ liema żmien eżatt. Dan minħabba li s'issa m'għandna l-ebda dokumenti jew xhieda oħra f'idejna. Ħjiel importanti li kien hemm fir-Razzett, żewġ armi minquxa fil-ġebel, ġew misruqa xi żmien ilu. Insterqu wkoll partijiet sostanzjali mill-bini nnifsu, fosthom xorok tas-soqfa, travi tal-injam, kif ukoll l-imwieżeb tal-ilma. Dan il-vandaliżmu wassal biex daħal ammont kbir ta’ ilma fil-ħitan tal-kmamar differenti bil-konsegwenza li llum dan il-post huwa f'rovina totali.
Dawn il-kmamar kienu jgħixu fihom nies li oriġinarjament kienu mill- inħawi tal-Mosta. Kienu bdiewa li matul is-sena kienu jgħixu f’xi kamra minn dan ir-Razzett biex ikunu qrib l-għelieqi tagħhom. Kienu jmorru fid-djar tagħhom fil-Mosta jew banda oħra f'xi festa jew meta l-mara tkun waslet biex tiled it-tarbija tagħha. Minn madwar l-1920 ’il quddiem il-gvern beda joħroġ għall-bini artijiet fil-post fejn illum hemm ir-raħal modern tal-Manikata. Il-familji li kienu jgħixu f'dan ir-Razzett bdew jibnu djarhom fir-raħal li beda jifforma ruħu u naqra naqra r-Razzett beda jiżvojta. L-aħħar familja ħarġet minn dawn l-inħawi f’xi żmien qrib l-1980. Fuq ir-Razzett tal-Qasam waqgħet il-ħemda li ħalliet lill-vandali jagħmlu ħerba minn dan il-post meraviljuż.
Il-Koperattiva Rurali Manikata għandha l-ħsieb li fuq medda ta’ snin tirrestawra dan il-post biex fih toħloq ċentru ta’ servizzi għall-bdiewa membri tagħha. Fost l-oħrajn, toħloq fih ċentru fejn tilqa’ lil dawk kollha li jżuru l-għelieqi tal-membri permezz tal-programm ta’ agrotruriżmu edukattiv tagħha. Tixtieq ukoll li fir-Razzett toħloq post minn fejn dawk li jżuruna jixtru prodotti tipiċi tal-lokal. Sfortunatament l-aħħar użu tal-post kien bħala miżbla tal-Kamp tar-Royal Marines f’Għajn Tuffieħa. Membri tal-Koperattiva naddfu l-post minn tunnellati ta’ ħadid, injam u ħġieġ. Ġiet restawrat girna fir-Razzett u bħalissa għaddej ir-restawr fuq il-ħitan tas-sejjieħ. Sar survey tal-kumpless kollu mill-perit tal-Koperattiva u bħalissa qed tiġi pproċessata l-applikazzjoni għar-restawr tal-bini mwaqqa’ li hemm fil-kumpless. Il-Koperattiva rċeviet diversi sponsorships għal dan ix-xogħol mill-Kunsill Lokali tal-Mellieħa u minn emigranti mill-Manikata li jgħixu fl-Awstralja. Dawk kollha li jixtiequ jikkontribwixxu għal dan il-proġett ta’ restawr huma mħeġġa jikkuntattjawna fuq info@manikatafarmers.com.
The first clean up at Ir-Razzett December 2007.
Joe Galea restoring rubble walls at Ir-Razzett tal-Qasam.
Signing the management agreement for the Razzett tal-Qasam in March 2008.
On the 5th of March 2008 the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment entrusted the Koperattiva Rurali Manikata (KRM) Ltd. with the management of a farmstead in Manikata, on the periphery of the Majjistral Park. This farmstead is known as Ir-Razzett tal-Qasam, that is, the Farmstead of Għajn Tuffieħa Estate. It is an extensive rural complex made up of caves and rooms of different sizes, most of them in ruins.
Notarial deeds dating back to the Middle Ages make reference to various caves in the rural estate of Għajn Tuffieħa which were used for the rearing of sheep, goats and oxen. Remains in the caves show that animals were kept in the caves of ir-Razzett tal-Qasam up to a couple of decades ago. The different rooms found in this farmstead belong to different periods. This can be assumed from the various building techniques. Some parts possibly date back to Mediaeval times. But most of the buildings belong to the era of the Knights of St.John. However, it is very difficult to date the buildings with accuracy, for a number of reasons. Up till now we still have no written evidence which can help us in this regard. Two coats of arms carved in stone have been stolen some years ago. The same fate fell upon large parts of the buildings, including roof stone slabs, timber beams and most of the stone water spouts. Because of this ravaging, a lot of water has seeped into the thick walls with the result that the place today is in ruins.
The rooms around this rural complex were inhabited by people that were originally from Mosta and other nearby towns. They were farmers who dwelled in these rooms throughout the year and only visited their own townhouse during special feasts or when their wife was about to give birth. From about 1920 onwards, the authorities started selling plots of land on the site of present-day Manikata. The inhabitants of ir-Razzett tal-Qasam started building their own houses in Manikata and little by little, the Razzett was abandoned to its own fate. The last family is known to have left the whereabouts of the place sometime around 1980. Silence enveloped the place, leaving it at the mercy of vandals who sadly managed to turn this marvellous place into a shambles.
Koperattiva Rurali Manikata is intent on restoring and conserving this place over a number of years, eventually turning it into a services centre for its farmer members. It plans to open up a visitors’ centre for all those who visit the fields of our members through the cooperative’s educational agro-tourism programme. To complement this programme, KRM also wishes to have an outlet in the Razzett from where visitors would be able to purchase typical local food.
Unfortunately, this rural complex was last used as a dumping site for the Għajn Tuffieħa Royal Marines Training Centre. Members of the Cooperative have cleaned the place from tons of scrap metal, wood and broken glass. A corbelled stone hut (Girna) in the farmstead has been restored and currently, the restoration of the rubble walls has been taken in hand. The architect of the Cooperative has surveyed the place and a formal application for the full restoration of the dilapidated buildings on the site is being processed. The Cooperative has received various sponsorships for this work from the Mellieħa Local Council and from Manikata migrants living in Australia. Anyone who wishes to contribute to this project is kindly requested to contact us on info@manikatafarmers.com.
Restored Girna at Ir-Razzett
Restored rubble walls at Ir-Razzett tal-Qasam
Piju Mercieca, member of KRM, restoring a Girna at Ir-Razzett tal-Qasam.
Carting away truck loads of scrap metal.
Cleaning the Razzett from hundreds of glass bottles.
