Sanikatta: The brown salt village of India

In the world of white, black, and pink salts, a quaint village in Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district has been producing mineral-rich brown salt for over 300 years. Sanikatta, one of the oldest salt-making places in India, is home to around 500 acres of salt pans where water from the Aghanashini River is evaporated to produce brown salt.

The water from this river flows unobstructed through the Western Ghats range and then joins the Laccadive Sea. Aghanashini does not have any dams or industrial development along its banks. It is one of the few remaining untouched rivers in the world, flowing through the Western Ghats known for its rich medicinal vegetation. 

Stems, leaves and other medicinal plants that fall into the Aghanashini River during the year accumulate in the basin. These natural ingredients release their essence in river water, giving Sanikatta salt its unique brown colour. 

It is said to have medicinal properties, containing almost 96 percent minerals, including 4 percent rare minerals. Many alternative medicine practitioners recommend this brown salt for its potential health benefits.

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The history of Sanikatta salt

Sanikatta salt production has a history spanning over 300 years. It is said that salt was made here for the first time in 1720 and continued uninterrupted through the rule of the Peshwas, Tipu Sultan, and the British, and into the modern digital age. 

Local says that during the British rule, the cost of salt was only 2 annas (one anna was one-sixteenths of a rupee) per bag, but the Salt Act of 1888 imposed a tax of nearly 1 damdi (half paisa), which was higher than the actual cost of the salt. The Office of the Inspector of Salt in Sanikatta often imprisoned those who could not afford these high taxes in a local cell. 

However, things changed after India's independence and the village’s salt continued to grow in demand. Villagers produced salt independently until 1952, when they united under the 'Nagarbail Salt Owners Cooperative Society, Sanikatta.' Since then, the cooperative produces around 12,000 tonnes of salt annually. The salt retails at Rs59 to Rs80 per kg.

While there is no unsold stock, the production can’t go up due to the limited availability of land around the Aghanashini River. 

The salt is not only used for human consumption but also in organic farming. Farmers buy loose salt in large quantities for their crops as it results in good yields.

Rainfall in Sanikatta is seasonal but high, averaging 350 cm annually. It receives the majority of the rainfall between June and November due to the southwest monsoon, which creates ideal conditions for paddy cultivation. 

How brown salt is made

The overflowing water from the river and the Arabian Sea fills the fields at Sanikatta. Traditionally, the local Agera community has been involved in the salt’s natural solar evaporation and other allied works. Once the water starts evaporating, salt harvesting begins and continues until May. 

Men and women from the Agera community collect the salt. Then iodine is mixed with the brown salt as per government guidelines. After this, it is transported to godowns and packaged for sale across India. Today, Sanikatta brown salt is available online on many platforms and has a strong offline presence in Karnataka.

The salt work creates seasonal employment for Agera community members, who otherwise work on farms. The Agera community believes that a salt manufacturing unit should be operated by a married couple. In this tradition, husbands and wives work together to extract salt. This practice has been followed since ancient times and today, many couples continue to work in the salt fields of Sanikatta.

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