estimated 58,000 tons of fuelwood per year,
1 while the salt extraction consumes
90,000 tons (Diallo 1993; Republic of Guinea 2002; Samoura and Diallo 2003; Feka
and Ajonina 2011). Salt extraction is a particularly important economic activity for
many villages along the coast, providing subsistence to more than 8000 households.
Salt is produced though different techniques (Box 7.1, Fig. 7.1), with some of the
traditional salt-making techniques consuming a considerable amount of wood for
preparing (cooking) the brine. On the contrary, salt-making techniques based on
sun-drying crystallization do not consume fuelwood, are highly productive, but are
perceived as less efficient by local communities.
Box 7.1: Main Salt Production Practices in Coastal Guinea. Source
(Balde et al. 2013b)
Traditional salt production (TSP) is seasonal and practiced for around 4 months
(mid-February to mid-May) in seasonal campsites. Earth with high salt content
is scraped and collected in coastal areas or drained swamps. It is then transferred into a series of filters, which are filled up with saline water (leaching
stage). The saline water dissolves the salt crystallized within the earth, with the
resulting brine leachate collected into containers placed below the filters
(single or multiple filters). The periodic addition of saline water can maintain
a continuous leaching process, until the concentration of the leachate becomes
not much different than that of the saline water. At that point, the salty earth is
replaced with fresh one, to continue the leaching process. The brine obtained
through this filtering process is poured into pans and boiled to evaporate the
liquid and extract the salt. This latter process requires significant amounts of
fuelwood collected from mangrove and/or upland forests.
The Guinean saline (GS) process is similar to the TSP process up to the
brine evaporation stage. The main difference is that evaporation is not
achieved through cooking but on a plastic canvas (tarpaulin). By practically
removing the cooking stage his technique reqires no fuelwood and has significantly lower financial (for pans, fuelwood) and time costs leading to improved
productivity. However, this technique requires building capacity through
training and providing tarpaulins to producers.
The salt marsh (SM) is an improved technique introduced in 1999 by the
French NGO, Charente Maritime. Seawater is collected in reservoirs and then
filtered through a series of salt basins where, via evaporation and crystallization, salt crystals are deposited. These basins are always coated with tarpaulins
allowing for the storage of a significant volume of seawater. Similar to the GS
process, evaporation does not require fuelwood and is associated with
(continued)
1 Mangrove wood is preferred for fish smoking due to its high calorific value, antimicrobial
properties and the fact that it provides a golden-brown color to the smoked fish that enhances
marketability (Feka et al., 2008).
7 Linking Rural Livelihoods and Fuelwood Demand from Mangroves and Upland. . .
227
1 while the salt extraction consumes
90,000 tons (Diallo 1993; Republic of Guinea 2002; Samoura and Diallo 2003; Feka
and Ajonina 2011). Salt extraction is a particularly important economic activity for
many villages along the coast, providing subsistence to more than 8000 households.
Salt is produced though different techniques (Box 7.1, Fig. 7.1), with some of the
traditional salt-making techniques consuming a considerable amount of wood for
preparing (cooking) the brine. On the contrary, salt-making techniques based on
sun-drying crystallization do not consume fuelwood, are highly productive, but are
perceived as less efficient by local communities.
Box 7.1: Main Salt Production Practices in Coastal Guinea. Source
(Balde et al. 2013b)
Traditional salt production (TSP) is seasonal and practiced for around 4 months
(mid-February to mid-May) in seasonal campsites. Earth with high salt content
is scraped and collected in coastal areas or drained swamps. It is then transferred into a series of filters, which are filled up with saline water (leaching
stage). The saline water dissolves the salt crystallized within the earth, with the
resulting brine leachate collected into containers placed below the filters
(single or multiple filters). The periodic addition of saline water can maintain
a continuous leaching process, until the concentration of the leachate becomes
not much different than that of the saline water. At that point, the salty earth is
replaced with fresh one, to continue the leaching process. The brine obtained
through this filtering process is poured into pans and boiled to evaporate the
liquid and extract the salt. This latter process requires significant amounts of
fuelwood collected from mangrove and/or upland forests.
The Guinean saline (GS) process is similar to the TSP process up to the
brine evaporation stage. The main difference is that evaporation is not
achieved through cooking but on a plastic canvas (tarpaulin). By practically
removing the cooking stage his technique reqires no fuelwood and has significantly lower financial (for pans, fuelwood) and time costs leading to improved
productivity. However, this technique requires building capacity through
training and providing tarpaulins to producers.
The salt marsh (SM) is an improved technique introduced in 1999 by the
French NGO, Charente Maritime. Seawater is collected in reservoirs and then
filtered through a series of salt basins where, via evaporation and crystallization, salt crystals are deposited. These basins are always coated with tarpaulins
allowing for the storage of a significant volume of seawater. Similar to the GS
process, evaporation does not require fuelwood and is associated with
(continued)
1 Mangrove wood is preferred for fish smoking due to its high calorific value, antimicrobial
properties and the fact that it provides a golden-brown color to the smoked fish that enhances
marketability (Feka et al., 2008).
7 Linking Rural Livelihoods and Fuelwood Demand from Mangroves and Upland. . .
227