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Salt of the Earth - My Scholarship entry

INDIA | Friday, 5 July 2013 | Views [1285] | View Larger Image

The salt is produced in a series of manual chores that have remained the same for centuries. Once the salt crystals have formed and the water evaporated it is raked into mounds in the pans. The workers move the salt by hand throwing it into much larger piles for collection by the trucks. A full dish was weighing about 25kg.

Saltpan workers of the Little Rann of Kutch, Gujurat, India
We arrived in the hottest part of the dry season and all the surface water had gone in the months previous, briny water is pumped from underground water deposits. The saline water is 10 times saltier than sea water. It is pumped into the huge salt pans carved into the desert floor and is harvested on an industrial scale. Raked continually to separate, allow evaporation and to encourage formation of the salt crystals.

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Ill Equipped workers (Agariyas) come from surrounding areas or move to the the Little Rann as labourers for the season, working in one of the harshest environments imaginable. A few have gumboots but most were were working in poor footwear, some in flip flops, some just barefoot with cracks and cuts on their feet. It's hot, heavy, hard work. Many Agariyas suffer with ill health, skin lesions, breathing problems and blindness.

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where's gavin

Salt of the Earth - My Scholarship entry

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