Israeli activist Ari Leon Fruchter has launched a new Kickstarter campaign, but instead of getting Israelis naked with Spencer Tunic, this time he is raising funds for Naked Sea Salt – a sustainable new brand of salt from the Dead Sea.
After the success of his campaign to draw international exposure to the Dead Sea, which is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world and faces dire ecological trauma, Fruchter discovered a Palestinian company that harvests the most mineral rich salt in the world the way it has been done for centuries.
“During the course of the project [Spencer Tunic’s naked photo shoot], I discovered a Palestinian salt field at the edge of the Dead Sea,” said Fruchter in a recent statement.
“I became fascinated by the way they were collecting, harvesting, and drying the salt. Why? Because not only do the traditional methods they use preserve the Sea’s unique mineral content, they’re also completely sustainable. ”
Fed by the Jordan River, which is shared inequitably and unsustainably among Palestinians, Jordanians and Israelis, the Dead Sea has been shrinking over the last few fews, and scientists fear that this historic place, this natural gem, may die – as it almost did eons ago.
Mineral extraction from the Dead Sea is not always sustainable. Down south, in and around Eilat, there is ongoing drama among hoteliers, environmentalists, the chemical industry and – reluctantly – the government in and around Eilat, the popular tourist town just north of the Taba border with Egypt.
So it really matters that whatever minerals taken are harvested in a manner that is more conducive to the lake’s health than a business person’s pocket.
That it is also one of the most nutritious salts on the planet with a very low sodium concentration, especially when compared with the standard store-bought table salt, is a major bonus.
The find changed Fruchter’s life.
“I couldn’t walk away,” he said. “I left my high-tech corporate job and decided I absolutely had to do everything I could to bring Naked Sea Salt to life.
With 15 different flavors mixed by an Israeli food expert, the mineral-rich salt is an adventurous, gourmet product, and yet it has already proven wildly successful by reaching its full $10,000 funding goal on Kickstarter within a mere 48 hours.
It also doesn’t hurt that Abe’s Market, “the Amazon of green products,” has agreed to distribute Naked Sea Salt on the company’s behalf. This is the first time (many firsts in this story) that an outside retail organization has not only supported a food product, but also participated in its crowdfunding campaign.
Eventually, Naked Sea Salt wants to raise an additional $250,000, but for now they’re just getting their feet wet.
We predict that if it’s mineral content is better than Himalayan salt as Fruchter claims, chances are we’ll be seeing Naked Sea Salt is every health food store in the western world in the not-so-distant future.
For more information or to support this project, check out the Naked Sea Salt Kickstarter campaign.
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
I love cooking. The dream of a magnificent set of blades and an equal array of salts …
Imagine that american home cooks took up all the different salts.
Huh.