Lake Retba is known for being a beautiful pink. But today it wasn’t. The salt harvesting industry there, however, was fascinating. We were told that the salt content is second only to the Dead Sea and rather than evaporating the water as in the last salt works we saw here they shovel it up from the bed of the lake, taking 24,000 tons out each year. It’s hard, hard work. Most of the workers come from neighboring countries where this must look like a good job to them. The conditions are horrible and I can only hope they make enough to make it worth it. I can’t imagine what it must be like for the little children who have to grow up amidst this work.
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photo being restoredThe pay master keeps track and the women are paid by the number of tubs that they dump.
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photo being restoredMost of the salt is used for salt removal in Europe or drying fish.
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photo being restoredAt the end of a very hard day this is home.
How very much we in the USA have to be thankful for!
Missed this one before. Wow, these are WINNERS, EACH AND ALL!
Does there seem to be a specific season when the salt is mined or does this occur year round? Your comment about the paymaster tracking the number of tubs hauled reminds me of the berry pickers being tallied for the amount of berries picked for their pay. Berry “payload” is certainly lighter than salt. My favorite photo is the woman helping the other woman center the tub on her head. Kindness is so basic and wonderful.
As far as I could tell there is no season as the salt is always there. We’ve seen lots of kindness on this trip, and lots of the opposite, too. People are same the world over!
Wow, Jenni. You take some of the best photos of people and their way of life that I’ve ever seen! Thanks so much!