El Dorado’s residents trade gold for groceries as mining remains lifeline

In El Dorado, a Venezuelan mining town, residents primarily use gold instead of cash for transactions. Merchants weigh gold flecks to determine the price of goods, with a gram of gold fetching $85-$100 worth of groceries. This reliance on gold stems from limited banking access and the Venezuelan currency's instability. While gold provides purchasing power, acquiring it involves arduous labor in the mines, with inconsistent returns. The town, named after the mythical City of Gold, ironically houses mostly impoverished miners, highlighting the disparity between the promise of riches and the reality of hard labor.