Nghe An: The hard work of picking sour river fruit

The river season lasts from May to July. Although climbing trees to pick fruit in the hot sun is hard and tiring, the people doing the job also have extra income.

These days, people in Thanh My, Cat Van, Hanh Lam, Thanh Duc, Phong Thinh communes... in Thanh Chuong district are harvesting sour river fruit. Photo: Huy Thu

According to local people, this year's harvest is better than last year, with many large fruits. River trees often produce many batches of fruit, so the harvest often lasts a long time. Each time they climb the tree, people only choose old and ripe fruits to pick. Photo: Huy Thu

During the river season, people who pick fruits in Thanh My and Cat Van communes... often go in groups of 2-4 people. Each group usually has people climbing to pick, picking, transporting... If they pick actively, a group can pick 700kg - 1 ton of fruit/day. Photo: Huy Thu

Harvesting sour river fruit is quite hard because the tree is tall and has a wide canopy, only brave people can do this job. After climbing the tree, fruit pickers often use a long pole with a cloth net attached to the end of the pole to pull the fruit. Picking sour river fruit with a net has the advantage of being fast and not damaging the fruit... Although climbing tall trees and constantly changing branches, sour river pickers are quite subjective, no one wears a safety belt to prevent accidents. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Duong Ngoc Cuong, a young man who works as a river picker in Tam Dong commune (Thanh Chuong) said: When the river season comes, people who buy river fruits and also work as river pickers often buy the whole garden of "crows" when the river is still young, then go pick them. On average, each river picker group usually buys from 50 to 100 river trees, continuously picking one tree after another. Photo: Huy Thu

According to Mr. Duong Ngoc Thuy, who has decades of experience in the river harvesting profession in Thanh My commune (Thanh Chuong), his group has been harvesting for 20 days this season. Each harvest, his family picks about 50 - 60 tons of fruit. Since buying a pickup truck, the work of picking and selling river has become more convenient. After each harvest, his son can drive a car to transport river to Dien Chau for import. Photo: Huy Thu

The river fruit looks quite similar to guava. When ripe, just gently press the fruit and the flesh will split into many pieces as if cut. The flesh of the river fruit has a sweet and sour taste, and tastes as good as mangosteen. The flesh of the river fruit has a sour taste, used as a spice, to cook sour soup, to soak in sugar and honey to make soft drinks, good for health... Photo: Huy Thu

The river tree belongs to the mangosteen family and is a perennial woody plant that grows naturally in forests or is planted by people in their gardens. This is a native, purebred tree that yields from 3 quintals to 1.4 tons of fruit per tree. In localities with many rivers in Thanh Chuong, households with few trees have a few, while households with many have dozens of trees. For households with few river trees, river climbers who come to buy the fruit usually pick it, weigh it, and then calculate the price. Photo: Huy Thu

Previously, the river tree grew naturally and its fruits fell all over the garden and forest, "giving them away for free", gradually becoming a specialty tree that brings income to many households in the mountainous areas. The river fruit weighs from 0.3 - 1.2 kg. When harvesting the river, people often carefully arrange the fruit in styrofoam boxes or pack them in bags for transport. Each worker hired to pick and collect the river fruit usually earns several hundred thousand VND/day. Photo: Huy Thu

Fresh river fruits at the beginning of the season are purchased locally by traders in Dien Chau at a price of around 6,000 VND/kg, about 1,000 VND/kg higher than last year. During this hot season, the price of river fruits is high, the goods are in high demand, and groups specializing in picking river fruits cannot pick them in time to sell. Photo: Huy Thu

Many families who have river trees or harvest river fruits often slice river fruits and dry them in the sun. On average, 10 kg of fresh river fruits will produce 1 kg of dried river fruits. The price of dried river fruits ranges from 50,000 - 60,000 VND/kg. According to local people, sliced ​​dried river products in Thanh Chuong are often transported to Hanoi and Hai Phong for consumption. Photo: Huy Thu

People of Tam Dong commune, Thanh Chuong harvest river fruits. Video : Huy Thu

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Source: https://baonghean.vn/nghe-an-vat-va-nghe-hai-qua-song-chua-10299183.html