honorable mention
Roberto Gregori italy
Photo © Roberto Gregori
title
Agariyas, a life away from home
Up to 76% of India’s salt is produced on this land, but the Agariyas have for generations been compensated little for their labor, they earn an average of only 300 rupees ($ 3,60) per ton of salt even though the market price is 17,000 rupees per ton ($239).
Throughout their working lives, saltpan farmers encounter serious health hazards. Working in extreme temperatures without any protective gear against the intense sun and the salt, many Agariyas suffer eyes and skin damage.
The desire to travel, which sometimes becoming a “necessity”, and the passion for photography have started to feed each other and now I can't say which of the two drives me more to visit new countries.
I'm convinced that travelling, especially in countries with culture a lifestyle that are different from ours, somehow changes the way we see the world, doing it with a “photgraphic eye” allows you to look at things watch with a different perpective, perhaps more profound.
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entry description
After monsoon season the Arabian sea recedes from Little Rann of Kutch, in the Indian state of Gujarat; it leaves behind vast amounts of salt water below the surface. This is when the Agariyas, a community of salt farmers who have worked on this land for centuries, arrive from nearby villages to produce salt from this annually-renewed source. They dig wells to pump out the briny groundwater and fill the fields where the natural evaporation process leaves behind white crystals. The Agariyas live for 7/8 months in temporary houses made from scraps of tarpaulin sheets and jute bags with wood framework beside their salt flats.Up to 76% of India’s salt is produced on this land, but the Agariyas have for generations been compensated little for their labor, they earn an average of only 300 rupees ($ 3,60) per ton of salt even though the market price is 17,000 rupees per ton ($239).
Throughout their working lives, saltpan farmers encounter serious health hazards. Working in extreme temperatures without any protective gear against the intense sun and the salt, many Agariyas suffer eyes and skin damage.
about the photographer
I'm passionate about travel and photography .The desire to travel, which sometimes becoming a “necessity”, and the passion for photography have started to feed each other and now I can't say which of the two drives me more to visit new countries.
I'm convinced that travelling, especially in countries with culture a lifestyle that are different from ours, somehow changes the way we see the world, doing it with a “photgraphic eye” allows you to look at things watch with a different perpective, perhaps more profound.
back to gallery
