Gatherers' Nest (Thailand, Kho Phi Phi)

Beneath the sheer cliffs of Koh Phi Phi Leh , these bamboo huts appear suspended between sea and sky. They serve as shelter for swallow nest gatherers , an ancient craft passed down from generation to generation. The men live there for several days, sometimes weeks, clinging to the rock to harvest sea swallow nests , formed almost exclusively of solidified saliva.

This trade, intended for the preparation of the famous bird's nest soup , is one of the most unique traditions of the Andaman Sea . Nests, prized in Chinese gastronomy, are among the most expensive natural products in the world. Their harvest is now regulated , in order to protect bird colonies and preserve a know-how that is both perilous and precious.

Between intangible heritage and fragile ecological balance , this practice illustrates the way in which humans adapt to extreme terrain and natural resources, in a thousand-year-old dialogue between sea, stone and invisible gesture .