In Scotland’s remote coastal communities during the late 19th century, kelp harvesting was a harsh and hazardous occupation that emerged as part of the broader economic changes brought by the Industrial Revolution. Islanders on the Isle of Skye and other areas labored in difficult conditions to collect and process seaweed, sustaining an industry that played a role in manufacturing but offered minimal financial rewards to the workers themselves.

The process of kelp harvesting involved cutting seaweed from rocky shorelines before dragging it ashore to be dried on stone walls. Workers then burned the dried kelp in pits, stirring the burning material to produce a thick ash known as oil ash. This step released toxic smoke and fumes, exposing harvesters to serious health risks, including potential blindness. Despite these dangers, the work was done largely for subsistence wages.

The ash produced from this labor-intensive process was transported to mainland Scotland, where it was used in the production of glass and soap. Though solvent in the industrial supply chain, the kelp industry’s profits were heavily skewed in favor of landlords, who could earn as much as £20,000 annually—a substantial sum at the time—while the kelp harvesters received only a small fraction of those earnings.

The kelp industry ultimately declined and disappeared as cheaper alternatives became available, rendering the laborious and perilous kelp operations economically unviable. While the Industrial Revolution is often associated with urban factory work, its impact stretched to even the most isolated coastal communities, where traditional livelihoods were upended, oftentimes at significant human cost.