Salt producers fear craft is drying up

ANFEH, Lebanon - At 93, Elias al-Najjar has spent half a century harvesting salt by hand from ponds on Lebanon's Mediterranean shore, but he and his colleagues fear their way of life is dying.

Traditional coastal salt production was once popular in Lebanon, but the artisanal practice now survives in just a single seaside town, Anfeh, around 70 kilometers north of Beirut.

Producers like Najjar say the sector has weathered a series of blows, from an exodus of pond owners during Lebanon's civil war to the lifting of import tariffs.