Notes

Salt in the Danakil depression
In the past , when sea levels rose,the red sea flooded depression . Then when they fell again , the trapped water evaporated , leaving thick beads of salt. Today , most of Ethiopians salt is mined from these beads by hand - just as how it had been for many centuries .
Dejen's day
Dejen whacks his pickax into the ground , breaking the salt into slabs . Someone else will will follow him ,levering the slabs out with wooden poles . Others cut and shape them into neat blocks .The sun blasts down .its over 50 diereses . There is no shade . The ground burns though his sandals. Dejen is used to it . He has been mining salt since he was 16. But sometimes hr thinks of Yonas , who died from the heat last year . That's it ! The camel master has enough salt to load up the camels . He pays Denej 150 birr for his work (about £5). Now they will head back to Hamed Ela ,the village a 2 hour walk that's where Denjen lives .He'll go home and rest .At down tomorrow he'll be back , hired by someone else . Meanwhile , the salt caravan will Cary on towards Berahile ,over two days walk away . The camel master will sell the salt to the salt merchant in Berahile . It will by truck to mekele ,the centre of the salt trade -and from there all over Ethiopia.
A worry for Dejen
One thing worries Dejen . There is talk about building a paved road all the way from Berahile to Hamed Ela . It would follow the route in the photo above and one day trucks may take the road , with machinery to mine the salt there will be no need for him and his pick axe or the camels the Afer control the salt flats . They collect tax for each camel passing though Hamed Ela They say they will not allow machinery in ever thy will fight to the bitter end
ten million years from now
ten million years from nobody will worry about the salt beds -because they will be under water !
why ? Because the Danaki Depression and Afer Triangle are slowly sinking they are in the part of Africa where the earths crust is being torn apart in time the ocean will flood in A big chunk of east Africa will be cut off from the rest of Africa it will become an island we can tell this is happening from all the earthquakes and volcanic activity in the area