The season for gathering tung tree seeds.

Since the beginning of August, people living near the protected forest areas in Huong Hoa district, especially in Huong Tan commune - where there is a large concentration of old tung trees - have started picking ripe tung fruits to sell and earn extra income. Tung fruit is a source of livelihood that helps ethnic minority people in the area support their families...

Ms. Ho Thi Dong selects ripe tung fruits for harvesting - Photo: D.V.

Gathering "gifts from the forest"

In early August, when the ripe tung tree fruits fall to the ground, many Van Kieu ethnic minority people in Huong Tan commune go into the forest to collect them for a living. This is a time of leisure after farming is finished and also when students are on summer vacation, so from the elderly and adults to young children, everyone takes advantage of the time to try to collect as many tung tree fruits as possible to increase their income.

Walking along the road to the wind power project area in Huong Tan commune, we came across two women, Ho Thi Co and Ho Thi Dong, both from Tram village, sitting and separating the seeds of the tung tree they had just gathered in the forest. With nimble and skillful hands, in just a short time, the two women had separated more than ten kilograms of seeds from ripe, black tung fruits.

Ms. Dong said that for many days now, she and Ms. Co have been heading into the forest at over 4 a.m. to collect tung fruits. “Tung fruits usually fall at night, so we have to hurry and go really early. For the past few years, during the tung fruit season, my sister and I have earned a significant extra income, averaging 200-250 thousand dong per day, sometimes even more. Here, besides income from farming on hillside fields and rice paddies, the tung tree has contributed greatly to improving my family's life,” Ms. Dong said.

According to the women, after shelling the tung tree seeds, if sold fresh at the current early-season price, they fetch about 5,000 VND/kg. If they take advantage of sunny weather to dry them, they can sell for around 10,000 - 12,000 VND/kg.

Sitting beside her, Ms. Co added: “The job of gathering tung fruit is quite simple, and it earns us money to cover our daily living expenses, so every season, my sisters and I go into the forest to gather tung fruit. After gathering all the fruit at the edge of the forest, we go further and deeper into the forest. To benefit in the long term, we always follow the advice of forest protection officers when harvesting tung fruit. We pick the ripe fruit and gather the fallen ripe fruit, but we don't cut down trees or break branches,” Ms. Co said.

Ho Lam Hoang, a 9th-grade student and nephew of Mr. Mung, collects tung tree sap to earn money to buy books, notebooks, and clothes before the start of the new school year - Photo: D.V.

Not far away, we encountered Mr. Ho Van Mung (61 years old) and his grandson, Ho Lam Hoang, a 9th-grade student from Huong Tan commune, hurrying through the melaleuca forest to their farm. Mr. Mung said: “My family has about 1 hectare of land planted with tung trees interspersed with acacia trees. Every time the ripe fruit falls, my grandson and I go to the farm to pick the fruit. After harvesting the tungs in our farm, we go into the protected forests to pick more.”

"This season, whenever we have free time, we take advantage of it to go into the forest to pick tung tree sap to sell and earn extra income." After hours of searching in a patch of forest, Mr. Mung and his grandson returned, drenched in sweat, with two burlap sacks full of tung tree sap. Pointing to the sacks of sap they had just picked, Mr. Mung happily said: "Today, my grandson and I will surely pick more than the previous days. In just half a day, we've already filled two sacks with over 40 kg of sap. Currently, at the beginning of the season, the price is only a little over 5,000 VND/kg, usually the price is higher at the end of the season. By picking diligently, my grandson and I can earn between 400,000 and 500,000 VND each day."

While chatting with us, Ho Lam Hoang proudly showed off his newly purchased clothes and school supplies in preparation for the upcoming school year.

“The money for clothes and school supplies has come from selling tung tree seeds for over half a month now. I will try to collect tung tree seeds from now until the new school year starts to earn money to help my parents and buy more school supplies,” Hoang said. Not only Hoang, but along the way to the protected forests in the Huong Tan wind power project area, we also met many children of elementary and middle school age who accompanied their relatives to collect tung tree seeds to help their parents earn extra income.

Multipurpose tree, many benefits

We followed Mr. Nguyen Huu Xuan, an employee of the Huong Phung Forest Protection Management Station, under the Huong Hoa - Dakrong Protective Forest Management Board, on a field trip to several sections of the forest edge with many tung trees in Huong Tan commune. At this time, the old tung trees in this area are ready for harvest. Along the way, many motorbikes belonging to local people were parked along the roadside, waiting to transport the tung fruit home.

According to statistics, Quang Tri province currently has nearly 3,000 hectares of tung tree forests, accounting for over 21% of the total tung tree area nationwide, mainly concentrated in Huong Hoa and Dakrong districts. Over 83% of the tung tree area is within protected forests, with the remainder on production forest land owned by local people. The tung tree has both protective value and provides a livelihood for people in mountainous areas, with an annual yield of approximately 1,000 tons. Quang Tri province aims to achieve a tung tree harvest of approximately 4,000 tons by 2026, equivalent to a commercial value of about 50 billion VND per year. This is a significant source of income that helps people living near protected forest areas improve their living conditions.

The Huong Phung Forest Protection Management Station is responsible for protecting a protective forest area of ​​approximately 2,500 hectares, of which about 1,000 hectares are planted with tung trees. “This is a mixed-growth, supporting tree species that serves both a protective function and provides significant economic value to the local people. During the tung harvest season, we often educate and encourage people to harvest sustainably, without cutting down trees or breaking branches. Recognizing the long-term benefits of tung trees, the people comply well with harvesting and protecting the trees,” Mr. Xuan happily said.

According to Mr. Xuan, the tung tree is a fast-growing tree that doesn't require as much care as other trees. In particular, this type of tree is suitable for certain areas in Huong Hoa district such as Huong Tan, Huong Phung, Tan Thanh, Huong Linh, and Huong Son. Instead of normally taking 7 years for the tree to bear fruit, in these areas, the tung tree grows quickly, forming a canopy by the 3rd or 4th year, then flowering and producing its first fruits.

“The tung tree can regenerate from seeds and grows quickly. Its advantage is that it sheds its leaves in winter (approximately from November to February of the following year), then turns green again in summer (approximately from April to November), thus providing shade, moistening the soil, and creating favorable conditions for the growth of many low-lying plants,” Mr. Xuan explained. Further research revealed that the tung tree is not only valuable for protection against soil erosion and landslides, but its fruit also provides essential oil used as a raw material for the pharmaceutical industry, paint, varnish, ink, and biofuel production. In recent years, the average purchase price of fresh tung seeds in Huong Hoa district has ranged from 8,000 to 14,000 VND/kg, and from 5,000 to 8,000 VND/kg at the beginning of the season.

According to Bui Van Thinh, Deputy Director of the Huong Hoa - Dakrong Protective Forest Management Board, there are currently about 2,500 hectares of tung trees in Huong Hoa district. These trees were planted by the Huong Hoa Forestry Station in 1991 and 1992 and are now under the management of the board. Tung trees usually flower at the end of February each year, and the fruit is harvested around August-September. Mr. Thinh said that to protect the tung forest and ensure fruit yield year after year, during the tung season, many officials from the board and stations are regularly present in the forests to educate the local people not to cut branches or fell trees.

Mr. Thinh added that the tung tree thrives in a variety of soil types, from acidic, waterlogged soils to hilly areas, barren land, and land affected by chemical toxins left over from the war. It is also one of the pioneering tree species that grows rapidly, creating a green environment and providing a good forest cover for native trees to regenerate. The tung tree also has multiple purposes; in addition to its protective function, it also brings economic value.

Duc Viet

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/mua-nhat-hat-trau-188003.htm