Humans and animals seem to be absent here; the forest is completely silent, as if the trees were lifeless. Then comes the first clue we are on the right track.
Suddenly -- shining under the baking Sun -- dozens of piles of a glittery, flaky mineral appear at the side of the road. The source of these stacks of this naturally occurring substance lies a little further inside the forest: hidden in the woods, small groups of miners are busy working in what look like giant rat-holes, pounding at cave walls with rudimentary tools and sorting the debris with their bare hands. Their wicker baskets are already full of the reddish, translucent sheet mineral they're searching for. At the end of today, the few pounds they've earned will just be enough to provide for their families, but the material they have mined will end up in products found in every western home.
By: Matteo Fagotto,
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