Benin
Sand Origin
Cotonou, SEYIVE in EKPE Arrondissement.
Random Sand Fact
In Benin, women wash salt out of sand.
By the coastal lagoons, salty groundwater rises in the dry season and dries into the surface of the sand. The women scrape up the salty sand and pour water through it. The water carries the salt with it, and the grains stay behind.
What runs out is a strong brine, a high-concentration solution of salt. It is boiled until the water is gone and the salt remains as crystals.
The work has been passed down for generations, since at least the 15th century, and in the coastal villages salt is still an important income.
