Kibiro

About

Kibiro is a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Albert. Lying in an especially inhospitable region, it’s nearly impossible for the town to grow agricultural products. The soil around the town leeches salt from the nearby waters, and for nearly 1000 years, Kibiro’s economy has revolved around salt. The salt production is entirely handled by women, who toil away in the “salt gardens”, where they spread, scrape, and “replant” the salty soil in a week-long process that eventually allows them to boil out the salt. The extracted salt is then bartered and sold for the many goods the village needs but can’t produce on its own. The salt in the soil comes from the waters of the nearby hot springs, which are rich in minerals and believed by locals to have healing properties.