Ever wondered how salt is made? I want to share what we do here in our place.
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite.
Salt is essential for life in general, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
Salt making is one of the main source of living here in our community when summer comes. When I was a kid we used to help our parents do this but my parents were getting old so we no longer have this. You need to harvest this during noontime or at 1pm when the sun is too hot. These are fishponds turned into a salt making spot. I remember during summer vacations after school, we were doing this and every time I go back to school, my skin was burned. I'm too dark. 🤣 But we are also paid for this so I saved money from it for me to buy some stuffs. 💓 I remember there was a time that December or January we already started the salt making but as times goes by and also because of climate change they just started this March, but rain still sometimes pour. And that what salt makers hate, the rain. One thing you shouldn't bring when you go here, don't bring umbrella even it's too hot, or else you will be scolded. 😅 We wear long sleeves shirts and pants to protect us.
This work is hard, you need to wake up early morning and go here to add some water. Before noontime you need to go back to sprinkle some water again. And in harvest time, you need to collect those salt put in a container. Then water again. The salt needs to be dry first before it can be sold to buyers.
I have ask one of the salt makers today, the price of the salt right now is 350 per sack since there a few salts pa. But when tome comes they can harvest more the price also goes down.
