Santa, Peru: Guano extraction in Peru involves digging up bird droppings from coastal islands to produce a powerful fertilizer. Once a source of national wealth in the 19th century, guano is now harvested under tough conditions and mainly benefits small local farmers.
On Santa Island, north of Lima, about a hundred workers aged 20 to 60 start at dawn to collect decades of accumulated guano. Arid and windswept, Santa is one of 22 islands and 11 protected sites in the Reserva Nacional Sistema de Islas, Islotes y Puntas Guaneras. Armed with shovels and pickaxes, workers dig through layers of droppings, feathers, and carcasses, sift the mix, and bag it into 50–60 kg loads.
