How is Meet One Of The Last Salt Makers Keeping A 2,000-Year Old

Indigenous people have been harvesting 

salt by hand in this part of Mexico for over 2 000 years, but today half of these salt pools are abandoned unlike table salt this artisanal variety is unrefined and made in small batches, but the work pays little, and many producers can't afford to carry on the tradition those who do remain often work alone in a last effort to save this piece of their heritage we visited to see how one salt producer's business is still standing Juan Diego Hernandez Cortez works on his land seven days a week all by himself the mountains here were once under a sea, so they're full of salt deposits when it rains water carries that salt down to these natural wells then Juan collects it Juan carries about 40 pounds of salt water over the rocky hills barefoot for better traction he fills one of the man-made pools and cleans another to prepare for the filtration process then he pushes all the water into the clean pool little by little he transfers the water back into the empty pool through a mesh bag yes the liquid sits for at least five days evaporating under the sun a new layer crystallizes each day once there are enough Juan shovels the crystals into a mound he uses his feet to break down the big pieces which aren't too sharp when they're wet then he piles the salt into a basket which works like a colander draining out all the moisture it stays out in the sun to dry for four or five days after it's cleaned and packaged it sells to locals for around 10 pesos a liter or 50 cents he sells higher quality salt to restaurants and tourists for 30 pesos a liter or a little more than a dollar artisanal salt like this is sought after for its unique flavor and natural properties you can't find that in industrialized salt which is often mined from underground deposits and processed to remove other minerals and add preservatives Juan makes salt for cattle to eat too it's drier and more bitter than human salt it also requires extra mixing and grinding using a stick made from an agave plant it can take two months to get the cattle salt to this stage but for all the salt Juan makes consistent weather is crucial that's why he only harvests during the dry season or between cattle salt and human salt Juan sells about three tons every six weeks bringing in around 2 500 pesos or 116 per week Juan learned the trade from his father who learned it from his father he's been spending long days here since he was just about six years old is located in Puebla, and it was engulfed in a sea 50 million years ago that sea left behind salt deposits that indigenous people started harvesting at least 2 000 years ago by heating salt water and clay pots by the 16th century solar evaporation became the more efficient and widely used approach salt production boomed along with economy toward the end of the 19th century when travelers would pass through town along part of the historic trail el camino real but after the Mexican Revolution in the early 1900s the indigenous people of lost half of their land plus many young workers who went to fight never returned today around 60 salt producers are left and at 41 years old Juan is one of the youngest he says nowadays salt is underappreciated is many property owners can't afford to maintain the salt pools and local indigenous laws prevent them from selling to anyone outside the community so half the land sits unused is, but Juan plans to stay and build towards a better future he's banding together with 25 other producers to form a brand which will help them sell the salt at a higher price they've also learned how to deliver their products during the pandemic Juan remains hopeful that the artisanal