It’s the crack of dawn. Magnolia Ordoñez leaves in a small boat along with her husband - the captain- and her colleagues— all women. Their task: to find and collect pianguas, a type of saltwater clam, that lives buried within the roots of mangrove trees in the Pacific region of Colombia.Reaching the pianguas is no easy endeavour. They must find the right place to anchor, always a different spot from their last harvest, to ensure sustainability. Magnolia then jumps overboard, climbs a wall of mud and walks as far as possible into the mangrove forest, jumping and weaving through long roots. She lights incense to ward off mosquitoes and takes a moment to sing to the mangroves, thanking them for the food they provide. Then, she wades through the mud, sometimes reaching above her knees, to carefully dig up the clams. With each piangua she unearths, she checks its size and takes only the mature ones. This labour-intensive process is a race against the rising tide.
