Salt farmers in Lebanon tackle the country's crises the old-fashioned way - in pictures

Lebanon's few remaining producers have reintroduced traditional, eco-friendly techniques at evaporation ponds

A general view shows salt evaporation ponds in Anfeh, northern Lebanon August 12, 2022. REUTERS / Issam Abdallah

In northern Lebanon, salt farmer Imad Malek is one of the few salt producers in the country fighting the extinction of his craft.

'Salt production back in the days used to benefit many families. Local production used to cover national needs and get exported outside Lebanon in the seventies and eighties when the salt production era was at its best. In the nineties the Lebanese state started importing salt and lifted customs fees, so imported salt was cheaper than locally produced salt,” Mr Malek says.

Many centuries-old salt evaporation ponds from which generations made their living have now been abandoned and barely serve as a tourist attraction.

The few still practising this ancient trade have re-introduced old eco-friendly traditional salt production techniques.

'In the last two years we re-installed the water pumping windmill and placed a solar system. We are now 100 per cent eco-friendly in all of the salt production processes, we do not need fuel, gas or electricity,' Mr Malek says.

The salt-farming process starts in June and lasts until September and almost 300 tonnes of salt are produced from Mr Malek’s ponds every year. It takes 20 days for water to evaporate from ponds, leaving crystal coarse salt that is gathered and packed into bags for sale.

Locally produced coarse salt is mainly used for pickled products and in cheese factories. It can also be used as table salt, but salt farmers face huge competition from cheaper imported products. Locally produced salt costs about $120 per tonne, while imported salt is about $30, Mr Malek says.

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