It's been quite a while since I have updated the blog. The last few months have been exceptionally busy, not only with making new work but I have also been off exploring! Towards the beginning of April I spent 6 weeks travelling across South America visiting Peru, Bolivia and Chile. I saw some incredible historic sites, such as Macchu Picchu and the Moai heads on Easter Island.
Whilst on my travels I found some new inspirations and have gotten the ball rolling with design new work since I have returned. But there is one part of the trip that struck a chord very firmly with me. In Bolivia, my friend and I took a detour from our planned route through the country to visit the city of Potosi. Founded in 1545, the vast amounts of silver mined at Cerro Rico (meaning rich mountain) made it one of the wealthiest cities in the world and it was known as the jewel in the crown of the Spanish empire. However, once the silver resources were depleted it led to an economic decline. These mines are still in used today.
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| Cerro Rico (English translation rich mountain) |
We decided to take a tour with the Big Deal Tours company. This is the only tour company that is run solely by current and ex-miners, with all the profits going to the miners themselves. The first thing was to change into our protective clothing, including hard hats and rubber boots. Before going into the mine our group stopped of at the Miner's Market to buy gifts for the miners such as coca leaves, soda and colouring books for their children. Also available to buy was dynamite, anyone (and I mean anyone!) can buy dynamite in Bolivia for as little as 13Bs (£1.20) per stick. We then continued on to the refinery plant where the minerals (silver, tin, lead and zinc) from the mine are extracted and purified. The noise inside the refinery was incredibly loud.
(Video from inside the refinery plant)
The conditions within the mine are terrible. Although the shaft was quite open to begin with, it quickly narrowed and we spent much of our time hunched over with our feet ankle deep in water. In one section the tunnel was so narrow we had to slide down on our backs to get through. There was very little air (it was pumped in through pipes above our heads), making it more of a challenge to breathe. At one point our guide Pedro shouted to our group to stand to the side, suddenly a cart of minerals was pushed at a very fast pace by hand along the tracks we were walking on. We were told that the miners tend to not use modern technology so to prevent any job losses.
Half way through our tour we stopped off to visit Tio, the 'God of the miners'. Here we offer thanks to him and Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) by lighting cigarettes and offering coca leaves to bring the miners fortune and keep them safe. The men are superstitious and women are not allowed to work in the mines, they are thought to bring bad luck. We also got the opportunity of trying the 96% proof alcohol many of the miners drink (it tastes horrendous, similar to nail varnish). Many of the miners have problems with alcohol.
(Tio, 'God' of the miners)
The miners all have a great (and very dirty) sense of humour. We were made to feel very welcome and the miners were proud to show us where they worked. The mine is the main employer for the city. The average wage of a miner is 2000-3000Bs (£175-£260) per month. This is three times the wage that could be earnt at an office job, but the nature of the work and the health risks involved are high. On average 12 miners die a year in the miner, usually caused by explosives and lack of protective equipment. This figure does not include the number of miners who die each year from illness caused by working in the mine, such as lung cancer caused by inhaling the dust. Life expectancy of a miner is just 45 years old and there are children as young as 14 working there. Towards the end of the tour I saw a miner working with only one arm (it was implied by Pedro that his arm was loss during an incident at the mine). Historians believe that up to 8 million people have died working in the mine since it opened, this is why Cerro Rico is know as the 'mountain that eats men'.
