The Salt Mines of Salinas de Maras
The last place that we visited out of Ollantaytambo was the salt mines of Salinas de Maras. While not an Old Pile of Stone strictly speaking, the mines have reportedly been in use since precolumbian times, and that is good enough for us.
In reality, it would be surprising if the Salinas had not been in use for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The heart of the complex is a hot spring that spouts water of up to 40% salt content (that is not a typo). The water is so salty that crystals grow up naturally around the vents. The "mines", then, are simply pools that people have dug and built down the slope to capture the water and from which the salt is harvested once it has dried. An ingenious system of channels carries the water from pool to pool so that not a single bit of the water escapes.
The current economic organization around the salt mines is just as fascinating as their existence. The complex is owned by a cooperative, which is owned by the miners themselves. The miners buy or lease the rights to a pool from the cooperative, and work in it as needed. When the time comes to harvest the salt, they sell it to the cooperative, which in turns sells it at a higher price to the outside world. With the profits, the cooperative maintains the equipment, the channels, and provides other infrastructure. Any profit left over at the end of the year is divided between the miners. The system ensures that those who work harder get more money, while everybody gets a bit.
Enjoy the pictures!
September 8th, 2010 - 09:01
I’ii salt my soup to that! Everybody happy – even Matt!