Saddle sores were the least of it. For this personal yet unsentimental travel story, freelance writer Michael Benanav donned a turban and journeyed on camelback into the Sahara for thirty-six days. His goal: to join a desert caravan and travel among tribal salt traders as they hauled huge slabs of precious “white gold” back to the towns and cities of Mali. Along the way, Benanav learned what it felt like to bake in the sun and enjoyed the nomad’s energy drink made from millet flour, water, and sugar. He also learned firsthand about entrepreneurship in an unforgiving environment, a tale he tells with spirit and respect.
The salt mines of the Sahara were first excavated in the fourth or fifth century. By the late 1500s, miners discovered the richest salt deposits in what is now the hamlet of Taoudenni (“the middle of nowhere”). “Though scholars dispute whether the salt was literally worth its weight in gold, as is advocated by others, there is no question that it was extremely valuable,” the author writes. The pride of Taoudenni remains a profitable business today for traders who venture into the harsh desert because they can strap great quantities to their camels.
Benanav’s initial fear and assumption—that the tribesmen’s exotic way of life was disappearing due to an influx of Land Rovers and planes—was mostly disproved during his travels. The traders themselves rejected the very idea of any potential slowdown in business. The salt trade is dangerous and difficult work and Benanav’s personal guide, Walid, as hardy as they come, would have been happy to man the counter of a city boutique, the author reflects. “The latent threat to the salt trade is not the introduction of trucks, but future possibilities for education, economic development, and social mobility in the Sahara.”
So the next time you fret as an entrepreneur over how to meet payroll or perfect an elevator pitch, just think of your counterparts in the salt trade as they burn to a crisp and munch on sand-sprinkled meals. You've got it easy.
- Martha Lagace