TRADITIONAL SALT MAKER

It begins by creating a flat, solid base of sand. The type of sand is important, and the fine black sands of Klungkung area are perfect for it. The farmer then collects salt water from the sea, brings it to his flattened sand base where he sprays the water along the top. He does this several times before letting the sand dry under the sun. When dry, he rakes the top layer of sand (now holding salt crystals after the water has evaporated) and collects it together, then dumps it all in a huge wooden box inside of his workshop. He then pours more sea water into the large box, which seeps through the salted-sand, increasing the concentration of salt in the water. The highly salt-concentrated water then pours out from the bottom of the box.When there is enough salt water, it is poured into hollowed out tree trunks which are used as drying racks. Here, on a sunny day, the water evaporates leaving salt crystals to be scraped up, packaged and finally sold.

Nyoman Warta, is one of the few remaining Bali sea salt farmers. There are very few Bali sea salt farmers left on the island. Many have long given up on the trade that gives poor returns for such heavy work. Nyoman and his neighbours work from daybreak to sunset, their labour normally producing around 5 kilograms of salt if the sun is out — it’s a different story on a rainy day. Each kilogram they sell for around $2. That’s around $10 a day, but only if they’re able to sell.