During the summer months, people traveling to Samut Songkram province for the first time by road might be surprised to see piles of salt alongside Highway 35 (also known as Thonburi-Pak-Tor or Rama II Road). Those driving their own vehicles are often tempted to pull over to take a closer look.

Farming sea salt was once a popular occupation, particularly in the districts of Bangkaew and Ladyai. However, these days only a few farms survive.

Instead of following the footsteps of previous generations, many landowners have chosen to make some cash and sell their land to developers. Those who continue to farm struggle to persuade younger folk to work on the farms, most opting for other forms of employment, including factory work.

A sign of the times
“I can understand how they feel. It’s a tough job. None of my [three] children want to work in this field, they say it’s much too hard,” said 53-year- Chatree Wongwan. Chatree’s father and grandfather both farmed sea salt and while Chatree does not own a farm, he “freelances”, working for any farm operator who may need him during harvesting periods.

Sea salt farming relies upon how much sun and wind there is as well as tidal factors. The farming season in this relatively small province about 40 kilometers southwest of Bangkok usually begins in October once the rainy season has come to an end.

Somewhat like rice farmers, sea salt farmers divide up their land into blocks. Largely clay-based, the land is cleared, leveled and compressed in order to prevent rainwater underground from seeping into the land and diluting the seawater they plan to store on it. This process takes about a month, and, once completed, the farmers flood their blocks of land with sea water.

After about 15-20 days, the sea water will have evaporated thanks to a combination of the sun and gentle sea breezes. Once this takes place, the land is caked with the residual salt. The main challenges for the farmer are that winds can sometimes be too strong or heavy rains can spoil this part of the process.

Harvest time
Once the blocks of land are covered in salt, it is time to begin harvesting it using a wooden tool called a lua soi. This is used to scrape the salt away from the clay, while further down the line another wooden tool called a thab tha is used to pile up the grains. During the harvesting process the sun and wind continue to remove moisture from the piles of salt.

“The first batches are usually the whitest and are of the highest quality,” Chatree said. “The white color gradually fades, particularly among the last few batches.”

The mounds of salt are finally moved into a dry area, usually in the shape of a roadside stall. In the meantime, the blocks of land are refilled with sea water. This process continues through until February, towards the end of summer.

During the peak farming months, it’s common to see sea salt farmers busy working in their fields. Most are middle aged and they often tend to be deeply tanned from spending so long in the sun.