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Salt Harvesters of Ghana
| Length: | 19 min |
| Released: | 2009 |
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This starkly beautiful film exemplifies the burden borne by African women to survive and support their families. The Ghanaian women who live on a lagoon mine for salt with their bare hands during the three month dry season. Ankle deep in brackish water, they bend, scoop, bag, and tote the raw salt, often developing sores and swelling. Despite this, they’re happy to have this seasonal work and their indomitable spirit shines through as they boast of their superior skill to men.
Although many of the women dream of using this income to improve their lives, nearly all of the earnings go toward sustenance, as the clean water promised by the government has yet to materialize. The portrait of these salt harvesters, who have been completing this backbreaking work for three hundred years, is set against a soundtrack of traditional work songs and original Ghanaian music.
Although many of the women dream of using this income to improve their lives, nearly all of the earnings go toward sustenance, as the clean water promised by the government has yet to materialize. The portrait of these salt harvesters, who have been completing this backbreaking work for three hundred years, is set against a soundtrack of traditional work songs and original Ghanaian music.
"Conveys a great deal of information and has a great impact for so short a production. It would make a very effective item to portray the struggles of poor women, the relation between people and their environment, and the problems of development and the replacement of labor-intensive work with industrialized and therefore comparatively low-employment production."
‒Anthropological Review Database
‒Anthropological Review Database
Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film & Video Festival, 2008
Best Short Film, Newburyport Film Festival, 2008
Best Short Film, Newburyport Film Festival, 2008
