Hundreds of men in Kunar province (a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan bordering Pakistan) are sifting through riverbeds and chipping away at hillsides in search of gold, driven by a lack of formal employment under Taliban rule. Workers along the Kunar River use hand tools, sieves, and jerry cans to filter stone and sediment, with some reporting earnings of up to one gram of gold — worth around $125 — in a single week. Local authorities have sanctioned traditional panning methods while moving to restrict mechanical excavation, which residents say damages the surrounding landscape.