Salt is one of the most important ingredients in the food. The manufacturing process of this kitchen ingredient requires heavy machinery but in the Uttara Kannada district, the production of salt is believed to be the driving force for marital intimacy. The Agera community believes that a salt manufacturing unit must comprise a husband and wife. The married couple of this community extracts the salt together in a bid to produce quality salt. Hence, the husband-wife has been extracting salt since time immemorial. Today, more than thirty pairs are working in the field.
In Bankikodla, Bhavikodla and adjacent areas, couples from the community start removing salt every morning at 6 am. The man uses the big board to bring the salt to the end of the ledge with the water white the woman lifts it with a small board or a shovel. Within 2.5 hours, the salt is completely extracted.
However, with the changing times, the strict regulation of this community regarding this salt extraction practice has been altered a bit. As per reports, today 10-15 couples out of 46 couples are father-daughter, mother-son and sister-brother. Even today, most people in this community earn their income through the salt-extraction process.
Members of the local Agera community have been traditionally engaged in salt production, for centuries now. They live around Mirjan and nearby villages. Both men and women of this community work in the salt pans of Sanikatta and other villages surrounding areas.
As per the report of the Deccan Chronicle, salt-making started here in the 18th century but the Agera people have been processing salts in their pans before that. A Nagarbali Salt Owner Cooperative Society, Sanikatta (a village in Uttara Kannada district) a cooperative society of salt producers was formed in 1952. This cooperative society produces 12 to 30 thousand tonnes of natural brown salt every year.
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