Ignacio Marin

Photojournalist / Fotoperiodista

The salt of the Earth

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The Dallol salt flats, at the ...million tons of salt annually.

The Dallol salt flats, at the Danakil Depression. This massive plateau of salt, over 100 metres below sea level, stretches acrossmore than 90.000 square kilometres. It yields almost the entire salt production of Ethiopia: about 1.3 million tons of salt annually.

A miner works at the salt mine...0 registered miners work here.

A miner works at the salt mine. For centuries, and only up to 1930, the “white gold” was used as currency. Today, around 750 registered miners work here.

Two miners break plates of sal... can reach 50 degrees celsius.

Two miners break plates of salt using an axe. Earning about 6€ a day, working conditions are extremely hard at the mines. There is no shade in kilometres around and temperatures can reach 50 degrees celsius.

A group of miners working on t...nd loading it onto the camels.

A group of miners working on their tasks. At the mine, there's a strict division of labour, in which each man is responsible for a specific task: cutting the salt of the ground, lifting the slabs with the help of wood sticks, shaping the salt into titles and loading it onto the camels.

A miner uses a hoe to shape th...led ganfur, of about 4kg each.

A miner uses a hoe to shape the salt slab into a more standard size tile called ganfur, of about 4kg each.

A group of miners shape the slab into small tiles.

A worker ties a stack of salt ...d prepares them for transport.

A worker ties a stack of salt tiles together and prepares them for transport.

A miner loads the salt blocks ...rage, up to 30 bricks of salt.

A miner loads the salt blocks onto a camel. From here, the salt is transported to Berahile, the region's main salt trading outpost, on a 3 days journey through the desert. Approximately, 2,000 camels are used each day for carrying, and the load is, on average, up to 30 bricks of salt.

A truck oversees a donkey cara...t now coexists with tradition.

A truck oversees a donkey caravan, both transporting salt to Berahile. Since the inauguration of a road connecting Mekele, the region’s capital, to Berahile, modernity has been slowly penetrating and it now coexists with tradition.

Hussein, 18, one of the miners... the heat makes it unbearable.

Hussein, 18, one of the miners, rests inside his house at the end of the day. Like his father, grandfather and generations before them, Hussein works atthe mines. Every day, he walks for two hours on the salt flats. He wakes up early in the morning so he can work as many hours as possible before the sun and the heat makes it unbearable.

The town of Berahile, in the A...ly involved on the salt trade.

The town of Berahile, in the Afar region. Berahile's economy and social structure depends on the salt, since most of its inhabitants are directly or indirectly involved on the salt trade.

Workers load the salt into tru...rough the rest of the country.

Workers load the salt into trucks at the Berahile Salt Association warehouse. Here is where the caravans from the

desert unload the salt, which is stored and later loaded into trucks for its distribution through the rest of the country.

A young man lifts slabs of salt onto a truck.

A man arranges the bricks of salt on a truck.

Men load the salt onto the trucks.

The driver waits until the tru...now cover the distance faster.

The driver waits until the truck is fully loaded. Until recently, the camels transported the salt all the way to Mekele, but since the opening of a new road, trucks can now cover the distance faster.

Slabs of salt stacked in the B... of salt arrive here everyday.

Slabs of salt stacked in the Berahile Salt Association. About 6,000 blocks of salt arrive here everyday.

A man waits before he can cont...ooking for a work opportunity.

A man waits before he can continue loading the salt onto the truck. Many young men from other regions come to Berahile looking for a work opportunity.

A worker arranges bricks of salt in a storage house in Mekele.

A man prepares bars of salt to...e to its richness in minerals.

A man prepares bars of salt to sell in Mekele. Once in Mekele, the bricks of salt are broken into smaller bars and sold at the market for cooking and also for feeding livestock due to its richness in minerals.

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Thumbnail of The Dallol salt flats, at the D_ million tons of salt annually.

Thumbnail of A miner works at the salt mine._50 registered miners work here.

Thumbnail of Two miners break plates of salt_s can reach 50 degrees celsius.

Thumbnail of A group of miners working on th_and loading it onto the camels.

Thumbnail of A miner uses a hoe to shape the_lled ganfur, of about 4kg each.

Thumbnail of A group of miners shape the slab into small tiles.

Thumbnail of A worker ties a stack of salt t_nd prepares them for transport.

Thumbnail of A miner loads the salt blocks o_erage, up to 30 bricks of salt.

Thumbnail of A truck oversees a donkey carav_it now coexists with tradition.

Thumbnail of Hussein, 18, one of the miners,_d the heat makes it unbearable.

Thumbnail of The town of Berahile, in the Af_tly involved on the salt trade.

Thumbnail of Workers load the salt into truc_hrough the rest of the country.

Thumbnail of A young man lifts slabs of salt onto a truck.

Thumbnail of A man arranges the bricks of salt on a truck.

Thumbnail of Men load the salt onto the trucks.

Thumbnail of The driver waits until the truc_ now cover the distance faster.

Thumbnail of Slabs of salt stacked in the Be_s of salt arrive here everyday.

Thumbnail of A man waits before he can conti_looking for a work opportunity.

Thumbnail of A worker arranges bricks of salt in a storage house in Mekele.

Thumbnail of A man prepares bars of salt to _ue to its richness in minerals.

Public Project

The salt of the Earth

Copyright Ignacio Marin 2024

Date of Work Nov 2017 - Nov 2017

Updated Apr 2018

Location berhale

Topics Photography, Photojournalism, Workers Rights

THE SALT OF THE EARTH

Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, over a 100 metres below sea level, is one of the hot testinhabited place on Earth. However, for centuries, the Afar people have come to thishostile environment to take from the earth the ‘white gold’: salt.

. . .

Dallol / Berhale, Ethiopia
November 2017
© Ignacio Marin

4,407

Ignacio Marin

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