00:00 (egg cracking)
00:02 This salt is known as the dinosaur egg,
00:07 and it's one of the rarest in the world.
00:09 Only a few families on a small island
00:13 in the Philippines still make it.
00:15 It takes eight hours of nonstop cooking
00:19 to transform seawater brine into this artisanal salt
00:23 called asin tibuak.
00:24 (speaking in foreign language)
00:30 (speaking in foreign language)
00:34 In the 1960s, families in Buol
00:39 traded asin tibuak for food and other goods.
00:43 But the craft nearly disappeared in the late 20th century
00:46 when younger people started favoring jobs that paid cash.
00:50 Nesta Manungas and his siblings
00:53 decided to revive it 13 years ago,
00:56 but it hasn't been easy.
00:59 A law bans them from selling the traditional salt
01:01 in their own country.
01:03 So how do you find a new market for an old craft?
01:08 We traveled to the Philippines to find out
01:11 how this rare industry is still standing.
01:15 Coconut husks are what give the salt its distinct taste.
01:23 Nesta keeps thousands of them soaking
01:26 in a saltwater pond near his workshop.
01:30 (speaking in foreign language)
01:33 It can take two days to chop 3,000 coconut husks
01:43 needed to make one batch of salt.
01:45 JJ Nogorada has been working here for about a year.
01:50 Nesta and his wife adopted him when he was four years old
01:55 after his mother died and his father became ill.
01:58 (speaking in foreign language)
02:03 The husks dry in the sun for a day.
02:13 Next, Nesta sets them on fire, starting from the bottom.
02:24 He learned salt making from his father and grandfather
02:27 when he was 15 years old.
02:29 But like many other young people,
02:32 he left three years later to look for less laborious careers.
02:35 (speaking in foreign language)
02:40 Today, his team of four does most of the work.
02:50 The husks burn continuously for a whole week.
02:54 (speaking in foreign language)
03:00 The pile of ashes left behind is called gassang.
03:13 Workers break up any large pieces by hand.
03:20 This is one of the most essential ingredients.
03:23 Workers cover the rattan filter, called saksak,
03:27 with a bed of fresh palm leaves to keep it from leaking.
03:31 They pack the ashes in and spend an hour
03:35 compressing them with a wooden stick.
03:47 Then, about 1,300 gallons of seawater
03:50 get pumped through the filter.
03:52 What comes out on the other side
03:55 is a salty brine called tasik.
03:57 This step alone can take a day and a half.
04:01 (speaking in foreign language)
04:07 (dramatic music)
04:10 Nesta patches the stove with a mixture of ashes and water
04:23 before each use.
04:25 The frequent high heat often damages it.
04:28 (speaking in foreign language)
04:33 (dramatic music)
04:36 Then, he balances clay pots called gon
04:51 between metal rods.
04:53 It can take a whole hour to get it right,
04:57 but Nesta says that's quick.
05:00 (speaking in foreign language)
05:04 One rock out of place could ruin months of work.
05:17 (speaking in foreign language)
05:22 (dramatic music)
05:25 Nesta's family left the trade in 1983
05:40 after their workshop was destroyed in a typhoon.
05:42 In 2010, his brother Chris convinced him
05:46 to restart their business to save the tradition.
05:51 Since then, other family members have also joined the trade,
05:55 like his cousin, Josephine Sumingit,
05:58 one of the few potters in town who makes the clay pots.
06:02 She learned how when she was 18 years old.
06:04 (speaking in foreign language)
06:09 (dramatic music)
06:12 Back at the workshop, the team prepares the fire
06:33 with mahogany wood and coconut fronds.
06:35 Nesta has strict rules in place
06:39 before any cooking begins.
06:42 Everyone needs to remove jewelry or watches
06:44 and refrain from eating oily foods.
06:46 These are based on superstitions
06:49 passed down for generations.
06:51 Finally, it's time to start cooking,
06:56 and it's all hands on deck.
07:00 Jojo tends to the fire,
07:03 while two others pour brine into the pots.
07:06 They continue to fill them as the water evaporates.
07:10 The process can take all day,
07:13 ending when each pot is filled with salt crystals.
07:17 These ladles are made from seashells
07:20 since they are heat-resistant
07:22 and don't contain synthetic chemicals.
07:25 Temperatures in the workshop
07:26 can reach up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:29 (speaking in foreign language)
07:36 (speaking in foreign language)
07:39 Popong Poblete has been making salt here
07:44 since the workshop opened.
07:46 Today, he handles most of the cooking.
07:49 (speaking in foreign language)
07:54 (upbeat music)
07:57 After eight hours, all the pots are finally full,
08:01 but the salt won't be ready until they crack at the bottom.
08:04 They sit to cool overnight.
08:07 Workers take each pot out of the stove the next morning.
08:14 (upbeat music)
08:16 (speaking in foreign language)
08:20 Workers take each pot out of the stove the next morning.
08:24 (speaking in foreign language)
08:29 Workers crack open the bottom of the pot
08:42 to reveal the salt.
08:43 Coconut husks are the perfect cleaning tool
08:48 to remove any dust.
08:50 (upbeat music)
08:52 Most of the people who work with Nesta today
08:54 had never made salt before,
08:56 but now say they love the work.
08:59 (speaking in foreign language)
09:17 One batch makes 110 eggs.
09:20 They can make up to four batches a month
09:22 if the weather is good.
09:23 One pot of asintibuok can last a whole year.
09:28 Nesta's sister, Veronica Manunga Salupan,
09:32 is in charge of managing and marketing the workshop.
09:35 (speaking in foreign language)
09:40 (speaking in foreign language)
09:44 But selling it has been their biggest hurdle.
09:55 A national law passed in 1995
09:59 requires all salts sold in the Philippines to be iodized.
10:03 (speaking in foreign language)
10:07 (speaking in foreign language)
10:11 The asin law was meant to combat malnutrition
10:17 and prevent goiters,
10:18 which are often caused by iodine deficiency.
10:21 But the law devastated small-scale salt producers
10:25 who couldn't afford the expensive machinery
10:27 required to add iodine to their salt.
10:29 National production dropped from 85% to 7% in 31 years.
10:37 Nowadays, most of the salt in the Philippines
10:40 is imported from Australia, China, and Mexico.
10:43 Lawmakers proposed a bill in 2017
10:48 that would exempt natural sea salt producers
10:50 from the asin law, but it's still pending approval.
10:54 (speaking in foreign language)
10:57 Artisanal salt producers have felt the impacts
11:03 of similar laws across the world
11:05 since the 1990s.
11:06 Nanga Pura is one of the last farmers making Baolong salt
11:11 in the seaside village of Kusamba in Bali, Indonesia.
11:15 (speaking in foreign language)
11:19 She spends her days carrying baskets full of seawater
11:24 and pouring them on the volcanic sand
11:26 to filter out the salt.
11:28 (speaking in foreign language)
11:33 For years, an iodine law similar to the one in the Philippines
11:37 made it hard for farmers like her to sell salt in stores.
11:41 Without regular buyers or frequent tourists,
11:44 Nanga is often left with unsold stock.
11:47 Salt farmers make so little that most have left the business
11:51 for better-paying jobs at nearby hotels and tourist spots.
11:54 And even though Nanga has loved this work so much,
11:59 she doesn't want her children following the same path.
12:02 (speaking in foreign language)
12:06 Nowadays, she sells her salt to a cooperative
12:14 that adds the iodine.
12:16 Kusamba salt farmers received
12:20 a geographical indication certificate
12:22 from the Indonesian government
12:24 to help them find a suitable location
12:26 for their business.
12:27 (speaking in foreign language)
12:31 But Indonesia imports around two million tons
12:42 of cheaper salt every year,
12:45 and the farmers face stiff competition.
12:47 (speaking in foreign language)
12:53 Nanga's main customers are tourists who come here
12:55 to see the traditional methods and often leave with salt.
12:59 (soft music)
13:01 Like Nanga, Nanga's customers are also tourists
13:06 who come to visit the salt factory.
13:08 (speaking in foreign language)
13:12 Nanga's customers are also tourists
13:17 who come to visit the salt factory.
13:19 (speaking in foreign language)
13:23 Nesta also depends on a foreign customer base.
13:26 Tourists are his main buyers.
13:30 He also sells some of it online to other countries.
13:33 (speaking in foreign language)
13:39 Restaurants are also required to use iodized salt,
13:52 but some have been taking a chance
13:53 and adding a sinti buwok to their menu.
13:56 Chef Jordi Navarra has been buying it
14:00 from Nesta since 2018.
14:03 His award-winning restaurant, Toyo Eatery,
14:05 in the country's capital, Manila,
14:07 serves contemporary Filipino cuisine.
14:11 We prioritize using local ingredients
14:13 and serving up our own versions of Filipino dishes.
14:18 The salt is the perfect finishing touch
14:21 to the best-selling dessert, leche flan ice cream.
14:26 The restaurant's pastry chef, Bettina Tenedo,
14:28 showed us how to make it.
14:31 Firstly, we start with melting sugar.
14:33 We use raw turbinado sugar from Negros in a pan
14:37 until it reaches a hard crack stage.
14:39 They pour a mixture of egg yolk, sugar, and milk on top
14:45 and steam it for one hour.
14:46 It's chilled and then churned into ice cream.
14:52 I don't think the ice cream could be complete
14:54 without the sinti buwok.
14:56 I just think they're the perfect pair.
14:57 I've had the chance to visit the sinti buwok maker
15:03 in Bohol together with Chef Jordi,
15:06 and you get a better appreciation
15:08 of what these people are doing,
15:10 which is not just basically making salt,
15:12 but preserving heritage, preserving culture.
15:19 Nesta and Veronica say it's been difficult
15:21 finding the next generation of our sinti buwok producers.
15:25 Even their children are hesitant to take over the business.
15:46 Weather here has become more unpredictable in recent years.
15:50 Nesta and Veronica have to watch out
15:53 for heavy rains and typhoons,
15:55 which have been hitting the island
15:56 even during the dry season.
15:59 In 2021, Super Typhoon Odette ravaged the Philippines,
16:04 with Bohol being one of the hardest-hit areas.
16:07 The storm destroyed their workshop,
16:10 and they couldn't complete orders for months.
16:14 We were so worried that the typhoon would come again,
16:18 and that we'd be washed out.
16:19 But it's not like that. We're still working.
16:21 We're grateful to God.
16:24 Many of our customers have sent us 500 pesos,
16:28 and 1,000 pesos to help us with the work.
16:33 They spent three months rebuilding it,
16:35 and in March 2022, they finally reopened.
16:41 Despite the challenges, Nesta and Veronica
16:43 are confident in the team they have now.
16:46 We're blessed to have two young ones,
16:50 Zai Zai and Kem.
16:52 They're the only ones who are not doing anything.
16:54 I'm not here, and Nong Esther is not here.
16:57 But they did what they had to do.
17:01 Other salt makers in Bohol have also started up again.
17:09 Nesta and Veronica know how difficult the work is,
17:13 but they believe the legacy of Asinti Buak is worth it.
17:17 And they're proud to be carrying on the tradition
17:20 in their ancestors' honor.
17:22 Now, I'm happy.
17:25 My heart is full of joy.
17:27 Because I'm emotional.
17:30 I'm emotional because of this question.
17:34 I'm emotional because I know
17:38 that my father and grandfather are happy.
17:43 Because that's the legacy they left us.
17:46 We thought we'd never make it.
17:48 I want to congratulate them on their work.
17:56 I want to thank them for their hard work.
18:00 I want to thank them for their hard work.
18:05 I want to thank them for their hard work.
18:10 [music]
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