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Antonio Calpanchay, 45, has cut and sold blocks of salt from the Salinas Grandes, in northern Argentina, since he was 12. Photograph: John Owens/The Guardian

In the vast white desert of the Salinas Grandes, Antonio Calpanchay, 45, lifts his axe and slices the ground. He has worked this land since he was 12, chopping and collecting salt, replenishing it for the seasons ahead and teaching his children to do the same.

“All of our aboriginal community works here, even the elders,” he says, sheltering his weathered face from the sun. “We always have. It is our livelihood.”