Michael Fox: There is a place tucked into the mountains and hills near the border between the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Puebla where local campesinos continue to practice an ancestral tradition.

They are salt farmers. And they are the last of their kind. 

People have been farming salt here for hundreds and hundreds of years, long before the arrival of the Spanish. The Indigenous Popoloca peoples here produced and traded it widely. Back then, salt was a rare commodity. They called it “white gold.” 

Even today, no one knows who built the rock walls and the stone steps leading down into the mineral spring that feeds the salt pools where the farmers work and harvest their precious white mineral. But they have been here for generations.  

Today, industrial production mass produces salt. It can be found in almost any store. But it is a cheap imitation. See… this salt is special. 

The whole region here used to be underwater. An ancient sea left behind salt and minerals. And when the rains fall here in the summer months, the water collects these minerals and replenishes the springs that feed the salt farms.

Scientists from a local university say the salt here is rich with 200 minerals and has two-thirds less sodium. The local community knows it. Almost every store sells it. Restaurants use it. Locals won’t buy any other salt.

White gold. 

But not anymore.

There are only about 100 salt farmers left in Zapotitlán Salinas amid cactus-covered hills and the dry desert landscape. But they continue to fill the salt pools. They continue to work them. They continue to harvest the mineral, scrape it free, pack it into heavy sacks and lug it down the hill for sale, as did their parents and grandparents before them.

Salt farmers like Pedro Salas Diaz. He’s in his twenties and works alongside his father. 

“This has been passed down from generation to generation,” he says. “From my grandfather, to my father and now me.”

They are a dying breed. But they are holding on in the hills of Mexico. Carrying on their ancient tradition. Their ancient art. Holding on to the past in the present. Holding on to their tradition, culture, and livelihood.

Resisting amid the ancient salt pools in the hills of Mexico.

Hi folks, thanks for listening. I’m your host Michael Fox.

I visited the community of Zapotitlán Salinas back in 2022 and did some reporting on these salt farmers. It’s a beautiful place and an incredible experience. Some of the sound I used in this story was from a report I filed for The World. I’ll add a link in the show notes.

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This is episode 61 of Stories of Resistance, a podcast series produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, I bring you stories of resistance and hope like this. Inspiration for dark times. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review.

Thanks for listening. See you next time.