FMoPA WINNER 2025

"The Salt of the Earth"

In the Peruvian Andes, the Maras salt ponds—worked since pre-Inca times—comprise over 4,000 pools owned by local families. At more than 3,000 meters above sea level, around 3,000 tons of salt are harvested annually using ancestral techniques. This artisanal model relies on cooperation and transmission, defying industrialization. Amid the ochre hues and crystalline textures, each sack carried reflects both the resilience of local workers and a way of life passed down through generations.