Inside 'El Sod', the stunning 'House Of Salt' village on the edge of an extinct volcano The village located 90 km from Yabelo, the capital of Borana people in South Ethiopia. It stands on the edge of an extinct volcano 1.8 km wide with a salted lake in the crater.
04:20, 30 JUN 2017 Updated 05:14, 30 JUN 2017 El Sod stands on the edge of an extinct volcano 1.8 km in diameter with a salted lake in the crater. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 1 of 26 The House Of Salt is a village located 90 km from Yabelo, the capital of Borana people in South Ethiopia. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 2 of 26 Salt from Lake Assal in Djibouti (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 3 of 26 Every miner works as a free lance, independent from any company or boss. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 4 of 26 There i no protection for the eyes and many miners suffer from blindness. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 5 of 26 For centuries, men dive into the lake to collect the salt and sell it across Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 6 of 26 Most of the time divers are naked, the salted water being so aggressive that it destroys everything, including clothes and shoes. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 7 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 8 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 9 of 26 When the weather is good after rains more than 200 men dive into the lake. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 10 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 11 of 26 The volcano crater where Borana tribe men dive to collect salt (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 12 of 26 Miners try to protect their nose and ears with plugs made of soil wrapped in plastic bags. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 13 of 26 Once the donkeys are loaded with 2x25kg of salt in each bag, they have to climb up to the village on the edge of the volcano. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 14 of 26 Borana wait for it for months since the area suffers from drought. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 15 of 26 Only Borana people get access to the salt in the volcano. A conflict would raise whenever another tribe try to enter the area. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 16 of 26 More and more children are joining for the families to get some extra revenue. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 17 of 26 Some men say they can make three trips in a single day. It takes them 30 minutes to go down (at least double for a tourist), one hour to collect the salt, then one hour to climb up back to the village with loaded donkeys. Some men do work from sunrise to sunset. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 18 of 26 It takes an hour on a narrow path to go down the 2.5km from the village to the lake, 340 metres lower. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 19 of 26 Three kind of salt can be found in the lake: the black salt for animals, the white salt for the people, and crystals which can be sold at a high price. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 20 of 26 Parents of child miners are aware of the dangers but they don't have any choice if they want to survive. (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 21 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 22 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 23 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 24 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 25 of 26 (Image: Eric lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media) 26 of 26