- The tradition of making salt from seawater on Kauai is deeply rooted in Native Hawaiian families.
- The painstaking and patient nature of salt making reflects the cultural values held by salt producers.
- Despite the drastic reduction in annual harvests in recent years, salt producers continue to uphold tradition and carry out multiple harvests.
The process of making salt from seawater is a long and tedious task that requires patience, perseverance and stoicism. The work that salt producers spend hours or even days on can be wiped out by rain, which is common on Kauai. The multi-step process used by Native Hawaiian families is centuries old.
How is salt made in the salt fields of Kauai?
Step 1: Deep wells or punas are cleared of mud and debris, and the seawater that enters them through underground channels is cleaned and useful in salt production.
Step 2: The salt bed or loi is leveled using river stones and sealed with a thick black clay and mud mixture.
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Step 3: Seawater from the well is transferred to a rectangular storage tank known as a waiku. The salt water in the wyke begins to evaporate and salt crystals begin to form on the surface.
Step 4: The salt maker gently pours this brine from the holding tank into the drying bed.
Step 5: Over several weeks, the water evaporates and a slimy layer of white salt begins to form. This salt is harvested by carefully and slowly scraping large flakes from the floor and transferring them to a basket.
Step 6: Soak the collected salt in seawater to wash away any debris.
Step 7: After rinsing the salt, dry it in the sun for at least 4 weeks.
Salt begins to form in one of dozens of salt beds at the Hanapepe Salt Flats on Kauai, July 12, 2023, in Hanapepe, Hawaii. This Native Hawaiian Salt has been handcrafted for generations.
In a good salt-making year, families may repeat the process to complete three harvests.
Will salt be sold?
No, this sacred salt may be exchanged or given away, but it must never be sold. Annual yields have decreased significantly. Fifty years ago, families handed out five-gallon buckets of salt. Today they will be distributed in sandwich bags.
How is salt used?
Hawaiians use it in cooking, healing, rituals, and as a talisman. Typically, the whitest colored salt is used as table salt, pink salt for cooking, and red salt for rituals and blessings, but this can vary depending on the situation and cultural or spiritual background.
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María Nobrega Olivera, who works to preserve this sacred tradition, believes that Hanapepe salt has the power to ward off bad energies.
After the Maui wildfires that claimed 100 lives in August, spiritual practitioners on the island bless and “calm” the traumatized island, especially the area where the temporary mortuary was located. For this purpose, he specifically requested white Hanapepe salt from Nobrega Olivera.
Salt producers continue to send salt to survivors who are rebuilding their lives. They also plan to visit Maui to share their salt-making knowledge with locals.
