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Xuereb, alongside her husband and mother, is
collecting this summer's harvest, which is less than in previous
years because of bad weather.
The family are part of a dwindling number of Maltese salt
farmers continuing a tradition on the island of Gozo that dates
back to Phoenician times.
"It's very labor-intensive, it still goes the traditional way,"
said 48-year-old Xuereb. "The only kind of machine we use is the
motor pump for the irrigation system."
After sweeping up the salt with brooms, the family carry it in
buckets to create a bigger pile nearby, covering it to dry out.
Days later, the salt is bagged and taken to a warehouse to be
packeted. Its ingredients are listed as "sea, sun, wind".
Forming a checkerboard pattern, the Xwejni Salt Pans stretch for
several kilometers on Gozo's rugged northern coast but most old
ones are no longer in production. Xuereb's family operates a
small patch.
"We have got about 350 small pans from where we extract the salt
and we have 12 big pools from where we get the water," she said.
"First we pump the sea water... directly into the big pools and
then we let the water concentrate there."
In the days when people bought large quantities of salt to
preserve food, the practice was a key source of income. But the
number of salt farmers has declined as younger generations seek
better pay and less laborious work elsewhere, Xuereb said.
Climate change has also had an effect on production.
In a good season, the family business harvests about 20 tonnes
of salt. This summer they managed less than half that.
"It's been very challenging due to bad weather, high winds and
the sea came up many times," Xuereb said. "High humidity means
the rock remains cold so it's very difficult to dry."
Xuereb's father Leli Cini sells the salt from a road stall to
tourists, the family's main customers.
"The market has changed quite a lot. Nowadays we have a good
demand from tourists... Everyone is opting for natural and
organic food," she said.
"(Salt harvesting) has been running in the family for many
years... I'm the fifth generation. There might be (a sixth
generation)... I hope it won’t get lost."
(Reporting By Darrin Zammit Lupi; Writing by Marie-Louise
Gumuchian; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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