Blood and salt (11 photos)

On Lake Katwe, western Uganda, about 700 people (men, women and children) are working miners salt. For his work, they earn about $ 30 a week. By the standards of Uganda is a decent amount.


The saturated salt water corrodes any scratch or cut, bringing employees infernal pain. To protect against exposure miners use glue, condoms and trim tires.



Men gather in the heart of Salt Lake. And women - along the shore with mud in bulk, made by men.



An employee at daybreak sent to the lake.



The lake produces three types of salt: the stone, the second grade and food.



The men returned to shore with its prey.



100-kg bags are transferred to trucks. Workers sell the salt merchants from Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



In 1975 a German company built a plant here solepererabatyvayuschy. However, because of problems with the electrification and supply of equipment, the plant still does not operate at full capacity. Now he has put up for sale, but the company is not willing to buy.



Women earn significantly less than men mine - just 60 cents a day.



Most of the children working in the mining of salt, do not attend school because they are forced to earn money for their families. Local people extract salt for 500 years.



All the men are working from dawn to dusk. Good worker produces about 400 kilograms a day.