Not Just a Pinch of Salt

Scorching heat, blindingly white salt farms, and the barren horizon. Sighing wind with a faintly audible solar radio, whirring diesel pumps are the companions of these salt farmers. Agariya- a rather unheard of community in Gujarat, producers of 70% of India’s salt, depend solely on salt farming and so it has been for centuries. The duality in the ecosystem of Little Rann of Kutch (a mud desert, and a wetland at different times) limits their subsistence to 8 months a year. Every September, Agariyas move from their villages to Little Rann of Kutch, set up make-shift shelters, which they call their temporary homes. The men and women of this community work day and night, in the harshest of conditions. Dust storms, lacking sanitation, limited access to education, and eviction notices from the government are their realities. This project attempts to show the unseen side of the lifestyle of Agariyas, and the temporary shelter they live in most of their lives. The bleak lives of Agariyas seem to begin and end with salt. They have only learnt how to survive contently with whatever is available. Unlike the privileged, to these people, it is not just a pinch of salt.

Malia, Haripar, and Patdi saltpans in Kutch, Gujarat