Salt harvesters of Ghana /
This starkly beautiful film exemplifies the burden borne by African women to survive and support their families. The Ghanaian women who live on a lagoon in Ada, mine for salt with their bare hands during the three month-long dry season. Ankle deep in brackish water, they bend, scoop, bag and tote th...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Video |
| Language: | English |
| Language Notes: | This edition in English. |
| Published: |
New York, NY :
Filmakers Library,
2009.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to this streaming video (Alexander Street Press) |
| Summary: | This starkly beautiful film exemplifies the burden borne by African women to survive and support their families. The Ghanaian women who live on a lagoon in Ada, mine for salt with their bare hands during the three month-long dry season. Ankle deep in brackish water, they bend, scoop, bag and tote the raw salt, often developing sores and swellings. But they are happy to have this seasonal work and their indomitable spirit shines through. They boast that the men would not be as skillful in collecting and cleaning the salt. Their families depend on the meager income from the sale of salt to provide food and clean water. Women have done this back-breaking work for the last three hundred years. Although they dream of improving their lives with their income, in the end they have to spend all of the earnings on sustenance. While the government has promised them clean water, it has yet to materialize. The soundtrack includes traditional work songs as well as an original song by Ghanaian musicians. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Originally released as DVD. Title from resource description page (viewed May 24, 2011). Electronic resource. |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (19 min.). Previously released as DVD. |
| Audience: | For College; Adult audiences. |
| Awards: | Best Short Film, Newburyport Film Festival, 2008 Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film and Video Festival, 2008 |