How 60,000 Metric Tons of Salt are Harvested from Senegal’s Lake Retba | Eater
"Located in Senegal, this intensely saline lake—saltier than the Dead Sea—yields about 60,000 metric tons of salt annually. Its high density causes salt to crystallize on the surface, so harvesters can continuously collect salt and a harvested area will be ready again in roughly 45 days. Workers protect their skin with shea butter against the corrosive, heat-retaining water, which can reach around 100°F in September, then go out in flat-bottomed canoes wearing small, stool-like devices strapped to their sandals to stand on the salt crust, dig, and scoop salt into baskets that are dumped into boats. Onshore carriers move the material to giant mounds—sometimes making up to 200 trips a day—and the salt needs about two months to dry before being sprayed with an iodine-and-water mixture to address global iodine deficiency, then crushed, iodized, bagged, and exported. Locals describe the site as beautiful but physically demanding, and encourage fellow Senegalese to visit and see the labor involved." - Terri Ciccone
