Viju Ben has been working in the saltpans of the Little Rann of Kutch for as long as she can remember. In all these years, never did the 51-year-old Ben realise the value of the sun’s golden rays, found in abundance in the semi-arid landscape. The same holds true for the other saltpan workers who produce about 70% of India’s salt. Not until they were introduced to the concept of solar energy a few years back.

Viju Ben’s is one of the 30,000 Agariya families in Gujarat’s Little Rann of Kutch involved in the tedious work of salt production. Experts say that the Rann of Kutch was under the sea centuries ago, until an earthquake exposed the seabed, leaving a massive desert that sprawls till the Arabian sea.

Every monsoon this desert gets submerged in briny seawater. Once the water starts receding around October, the Agariya community step in for their work. They pump the brine and direct it into rectangular saltpans, where they allow the natural process of evaporation to leave behind shiny white salt crystals.