Salt of The Afar

• Photographer
  Ronnie Dankelman
• Prize
  Silver in Editorial / Environmental

Every day camel caravans arrive at Lake Assale in Ethiopia. Upon arrival they have walked for at least two days through the scorching desert. A huge saltplain is continuously drenched with water from the Red Sea. The Afar control this area. The salt is levered from the soil and chopped in blocks. These blocks are all roughly the same size and weight in at about 5 kg each. A camel carries 20 to 25 of these blocks. They march back to the place where the salt is stored and traded. This area is one of the hottest places on earth, making the working conditions extreme.