Bamboo shoot harvest season

Nghe An In September and November, highland people go to the top of Pu Loi mountain in Tan Ky district to pick naturally growing bamboo shoots for food or to sell for 50,000-60,000 VND/kg.

On a mid-September morning, Mr. Vi Van Ngoan, a resident of Tien Ky commune, Tan Ky district, and five neighbors carried baskets, knives and sickles and walked into the mountains more than 3 km from their home to pick bamboo shoots. This is seasonal work for people in the highlands of Nghe An in the fall and winter.

Pu Loi Mountain peak belongs to Tien Ky, Dong Van and Tan Hop communes, with an area of ​​about 300 hectares, more than 1,000 meters above sea level, with many loi trees growing naturally. Belonging to the bamboo family, loi trees are more than one meter tall, have sharp leaves, shiny bark, and thumb-sized trunks, growing in large patches. People often choose young trees to peel off the bark to get bamboo shoots.

Loi tree grows on the top of Phu Loi mountain, Tan Ky district. Photo: Hung Le

For the past three weeks, every time he went up the mountain, Mr. Ngoan always brought rice balls, food and water to work through the afternoon. In areas where there were many bamboo shoots, the group of 6 people gathered together to break them or use sickles to cut them close to the base, then sat there and peeled off the bark, keeping only the young shoots 40-60 cm long. In a day, each person picked 10-15 kg.

"Bamboo shoots are a gift from nature to Pu Loi peak. Therefore, foresters often advise each other to leave a few shoots in each bamboo shoot field so that the plants can grow and have something to harvest next season," said Mr. Ngoan.

In addition to local people, some families in districts such as Que Phong, Quy Hop, Nghia Dan... also take advantage of the opportunity to go to Pu Loi mountain to pick bamboo shoots. People from nearby families go back and forth in a day, while those from far away go on 2-3 day trips, and at night they set up a tent to sleep in the forest.

Highlanders carry bamboo shoots home. Photo: Hung Le

Bamboo shoots are always in high demand. When people come down from the mountain, traders are waiting to buy them for 50,000-60,000 VND/kg depending on the type. "Every day I pick about 10 kg, earning more than 500,000 VND. A family of 2-3 members earns nearly 2 million VND per bamboo shoot trip," said Ms. Lo Thi Sen, 52 years old, living in Dong Van commune.

In addition to selling to traders, people also store 1-2 kg of loi bamboo shoots for food, processed into many dishes such as boiled, stir-fried, garlic and chili, pickled... In recent years, visitors to the highlands of Nghe An often look to buy loi bamboo shoots as gifts.

Despite their income, bamboo shoot pickers also face many dangers. Pu Loi Mountain has many steep rocky slopes and dense bushes. People who go into the forest can easily fall, especially on rainy days when they have to carry heavy loads down the mountain. They can be attacked by leeches, snakes, and centipedes if they do not wear protective gear.

After being peeled and cleaned, bamboo shoots can be processed into many dishes such as boiled, stir-fried, or pickled. Photo: Hung Le

Mr. Truong Cong Thach, Chairman of Tien Ky Commune, said that the area of ​​​​Loi bamboo shoots in Pu Loi Mountain is about 100 hectares. This year, people have gone to pick bamboo shoots less than before because they have exploited too much, causing the trees to not grow fast enough. "The government regularly propagates that people need to protect the rare genetic source of Loi bamboo shoots in addition to exploitation," Mr. Thach said.

At the end of August, the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An province agreed to accept the project to build a model for protecting, exploiting and processing loi bamboo shoots proposed by Tan Ky district. The authorities have developed a process for managing, protecting, enclosing and replanting bamboo shoots at locations where people have harvested them, on an area of ​​3 hectares.

"The project's goal is to preserve the endemic bamboo species of Tan Ky, from which high-quality products can be processed," said Mr. Nguyen Quy Hieu, Head of the Science Management Department, Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An province.

Duc Hung

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/mua-thu-hoach-mang-loi-4655099.html