Salt gatherers look for new work<\/p>\n
PALU, Central Sulawesi: Up to 200 salt gatherers along Talise
\nBeach here have been forced to find new ways to earn a living
\nsince constant rain has prevented them from collecting salt.<\/p>\n
Many have shifted to catching benur (young shrimp), selling
\nbread or working in construction.<\/p>\n
\"We can no longer work the salt fields since it has
\ncontinually rained over the past five months,\" Haris Ali, 56, a
\ngatherer said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said only a few salt gatherers actually owned salt fields.
\nThe uncertainty of collecting the commodity has affected salt
\nprices here which have gone up to Rp 22,500 per 50 kilograms from
\nan earlier price Rp 12,500 per 50 kg.<\/p>\n
Remaining stocks at the local market are expected to last only
\nto the middle of this month, the father of nine said.<\/p>\n
Daeng Sompo, 54, another salt gatherer now seeking work in
\nconstruction, said the salt was also bought by cacao farmers for
\nfertilizer.<\/p>\n
Salt gatherers say they are now increasingly dependent on loan
\nsharks to whom they must later sell their salt.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/salt-gatherers-look-for-new-work-1447893297",
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