“White gold” in the sand
With the last salt farmers in Bali
Salt is piled up in the small shop of salt farmer Nyoman Warta and his family. photo
© Carola Frentzen/dpa
Today, salt is mostly refined and has preservatives added. Not so in Bali. Here the “white gold” is still extracted manually from the sea – but the craft is dying out.
The head of the family runs the small, traditional business with enthusiasm and proudly shows interested tourists how salt production works. His grandmother was already active in the salt business here, in Klungkung Province.
The region is approximately halfway between the popular holiday resorts of Sanur and Candidasa. “There are only a good handful of such traditional salt farms left in Bali, almost all of them here in the east of the island,” says travel guide Putu Surya, who likes to show holidaymakers this unknown side of the world-famous island.
Not all salt is the same
Salt used to be called “white gold” because the crystalline solid was once so valuable and sought after. Today the seasoning is mostly manufactured industrially – the end product is often inferior and consists of 100 percent sodium chloride.
Because not all salt is the same: chemically cleaned and refined salt is a mass product that is primarily used in industry. Only a tiny fraction of global production is destined for human consumption. This table salt is usually sold enriched with numerous additives such as anti-caking agents, some of which are controversial.
Meanwhile, in the small business at Nyoman Warta, the dried, mineral-rich and now salty sand is poured into a large funnel that is filled with sea water. This slowly seeps through the sand, which serves as a filter. This enriches the water with additional minerals before it is collected in a large container.
Salt is essential for life – in moderation
“Salt is the most precious of all the precious stones that the earth gives us,” the German chemist Justus Liebig (1803-1873) once said. Or to put it more simply: “You can do without gold, but not without salt,” as the late antique Roman statesman Cassiodorus already knew. Because salt is essential for human life.
Sodium and chloride are required to maintain a variety of cell and body functions. The minerals are involved in regulating water balance and blood pressure. Sodium is also important for the function of the muscles, while chloride “as hydrochloric acid (HCl) is part of the gastric juice, which is used for digestion and defense against pathogens,” as it says on the website of the German Nutrition Society (DGE).
However, if you consistently consume too much salt, you risk damaging your health. “The risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension) increases,” warns the DEG. “High blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors for the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.”
Without sun there is no salt
In contrast to refined salt, natural sea salt contains additional minerals and trace elements from the sea water due to the residual moisture. According to research, it is probably not significantly healthier, and it should also be enjoyed in moderation. However, it is free of additives, has a coarser consistency and tastes a lot better – milder, more harmonious and subtle.
In Bali, the filtered salt water has now been filled into halved and hollowed out tree trunks. Now the sun has to play along: When it shines, the water evaporates within two days – and what remains is snow-white, mineral-enriched sea salt, which Warta now skillfully scrapes off with a coconut shell. The residual moisture should then escape in air-permeable containers made from palm leaves.
“We produce between 10 and 15 kilos every two days, but of course that depends on the weather,” says Warta. Salt cultivation in Bali only works in the dry season between mid-February and the end of October. The delicious “Organic Natural Sea Salt” is sold to local markets and directly on site. Meanwhile, salt farmers in Bali are not getting rich with this strenuous and time-consuming business: a 300-gram pack costs 30,000 Indonesian rupees for the Warta family – just under 1.80 euros.