I have always wanted to visit a salt farm and had been invited to go to one in Bagamoyo but I could never get there on public transport so when I was in Kilwa and heard about a salt farm there I was very keen to go and have look.
There were two car-loads of us and the one of us who spoke Swahili asked a guy on a motorbike to lead us to the farm. The gate was unlocked and so followed the dirt track downhill until we came to a cluster of wooden huts and rusting metal equipment.
We paid the young man who had led us there, and in the absence of anyone on site, walked along the mud walls of the salt ponds. I was keen to get away from everyone else and peek some peace and quiet so I walked quickly to the far end of the farm where I stood and watched flocks of wading birds landing and taking off, their white plumage shining brightly as they take en-masse about the water.
I stood and listened and all I could hear was the sound of birds. What a great habitat for wildlife.
I looked into the pool to see whether I could work out how the salt is extracted. Of course the general idea is that you trap sea water and let the sun evaporate the water leave salt crystals. There were plenty of salt crystal on the raised paths and just like picking smooth stones off a beach, I picked a handful of the most beautiful and pocketed them.
I still couldn’t work out why there wasn’t salt even in the pools which were dry. It was only when I got back to the group (which I had run away from) that I realised in the rainy season it’s not possible to make salt as there is so much fresh water in the pools. They have to drain the place at the end of the season and fill up with sea water again. I felt stupid having not thought of this.
This also explains why there was nobody on the site.