(ERGO) – Since last year’s devastating floods that swept away Mahamed Dahir Madar’s two-hectare farm in Baki, in Somaliland’s Awdal region, he has turned to gold-digging to earn a living a different way.
He bought some digging equipment and works with two to three other farmers he pays to prospect for gold in the remote areas of Seemaal and Isha-cobosha, about 15 kilometres from Baki, that are known for both farming and mineral mining.
They dig up to 15 metres deep, sharing the limited tools that makes progress slow. Mahamed has to spend at least $10 a week buying three barrels of water needed to soften the soil for digging. The team works for up to 10 hours a day.
“It’s a little better than farming. At least I can find something here,” Mahamed told Radio Ergo.
“When my farm was ruined, there was nowhere to earn a living, but here if I don’t find anything this week, I might find something next week.”
His team extracts up to four grams of gold in a good week, or just two grams if less lucky. Traders buying the gold may reject what they bring if it doesn’t meet quality standards. A gram is worth about $80.
So far, he’s managing to support his family of 10 with two meals a day on his income averaging $300 a month. He is also paying off some of their debts and covering the school fees for three of his children, including one at university.
After the floods, he had no money to buy seeds and inputs to begin planting maize, beans, and vegetables on his land again.
He heard about gold mining from others also suffering losses on their farms, and has joined around 60 others from the area now mining to fill the agricultural production gap caused by floods, drought, and pests.
“Gold takes a lot of effort and we have to dig down to as far as 15 metres. Two or three workers can work there in the pit. They earn at most $150, even less, as it depends on whether gold is found on those days or not. Most workers only earn enough for their basic living expenses,” he explained.
One of those working in the pits for a wage is Mahamed Nuh Farah, whose three-hectare farm failed due to pests and disease destroying the crops he planted earlier this year.
He makes about $100 a month, or $5 a day on average, which is barely enough to keep his family of eight members fed.
“This work is just for survival. There is no other provision. With farming, sometimes you get something, sometimes you don’t. Here, you only get what you dig out each day,” he said.
Mahamed said the digging work is exhausting and he can’t save anything to reinvest in his farm despite his hopes.
“You only extract what you will eat,” he said.
“My farm survived the floods that destroyed some others, so I still dream of going back when I have the money to replant.”
Another farmer, Mustafe Cismaan Cateeye, whose six-hectare farm in Baki became unproductive as well, bought the equipment to survey and dig for gold a year ago. He learned the techniques from others and from an Ethiopian miner he once employed.
However, he says the rewards are highly unpredictable.
“The amount of gold we find has dropped recently. Now, it’s deeper underground. It takes equipment, energy, and investment, and people are weak,” he said. “You might find nothing for three months, and then God gives you $1,000 or $2,000.”
Mustafe said he pays wages for four workers, and supports his own family whilst trying to pay off their loans.
One of the worst health hazards is malaria, as mosquitoes breed in the pits and people are often falling sick as a result.
