Bamboo has more uses, growers increase income

Bamboo rafts for shrimp and oyster farming in the coastal area of ​​Song Cau town. Photo: MANH LE TRAM

Using bamboo to make rafts for seafood farming

Mr. Pham Van Lien in Xuan Quang 3 commune (Dong Xuan district) said: I have been attached to bamboo for nearly 7 years. At first, I sold bamboo to truck owners to transport to other places, then I worked as a hired bamboo cutter to earn money.

According to Mr. Lien, currently, a bamboo tree is sold standing in the bush for 20,000 VND. A bamboo bush with 20 trees cut down on average can be sold for 400,000 VND. Here near the Tra Buong River, there are people who grow 20 bamboo bushes along the river and sell them for 8 million VND. However, not every year there is old bamboo to cut down and sell, but usually after 2 years from shoots to bamboo, the old bamboo is sold. In the countryside, in addition to rice, sugarcane, and cassava, many families have additional income from bamboo to support their lives.

Mr. Phan Van Sau, a bamboo buyer to supply the lobster farming area in Song Cau town, said: In the past, I bought bamboo to sell to establishments that made beds, wove items, made bamboo handicrafts, especially sofa sets. However, there was a time when plastic products dominated the market, and no one bought bamboo. At that time, rural people grew bamboo only for bamboo shoots and to build houses. Now bamboo is scarce because it is also used to make rafts for raising shrimp and oysters. Every month, I supply thousands of bamboo trees to farmers in the coastal area of ​​Song Cau town.

Talking about the durability of bamboo "diving" in the sea, Mr. Thai Van Sau in Xuan Phuoc commune (Dong Xuan district) said: I have a brother who raises shrimp in Xuan Dai bay (Song Cau town). A few years ago, I went to the sea to make a raft for raising shrimp and oysters for him and learned that, apart from the surrounding wooden frames, the rafts for raising shrimp and oysters are made of bamboo. "Bamboo is light, so bamboo rafts for raising shrimp and oysters are easy to move to avoid storms. Bamboo soaked in salt water is very durable, usually rotting on the shore for 3 years, but can withstand 4-5 years in salt water. Thousands of rafts for raising shrimp and oysters in Xuan Dai bay are made of bamboo. Recently, shrimp and oyster farmers who want to make rafts have to order and wait a while for old bamboo.

“In recent years, bamboo growers have increased their income from selling trees, and I have a job. Every day, I go to cut bamboo for hire, earning 300,000 VND per day. Cutting bamboo is very important, if you don’t know how, you will “kill” the bamboo bush,” said Mr. Sau.

Farmers in Xuan Quang 3 commune (Dong Xuan district) cut bamboo to sell to shrimp and oyster farmers. Photo: MANH LE TRAM

Bamboo "raising" techniques

Mr. Manh Van Cuong in Xuan Quang 2 commune (Dong Xuan district) has a “property” of 100 bamboo bushes. His bamboo “hedge” along the Ky Lo river bank is nearly a kilometer long. The bamboo has been green for three generations, from his grandfather to his father and his generation, working hard to “raise” the bamboo. He said that in the process of “raising” bamboo, when cutting bamboo, it must be done with the right technique, and there is also a secret to breaking bamboo shoots.

According to Mr. Cuong, when cutting bamboo to sell or weave objects, you should trim and leave some bamboo so that when the bamboo shoots grow, they can lean on the old bamboo trunk to protect them and grow straight. If you cut all the old bamboo, the bamboo shoots will grow up and the wind will break them, causing the bamboo bush to become shorter. When the bamboo shoots are cut off, if left for many years (over 10 years), the bamboo will turn golden yellow, and when used to weave trays or baskets, they will rot quickly and will not be as durable as bamboo with whole shoots. The secret to breaking bamboo shoots is to break the shoots from the ground up to the knee of an adult, breaking close to the base. Bamboo shoots that are as high as the waist should not be broken, because if you break the young part above (2 spans of an adult's hand), but leave the bottom of the base, the bamboo will continue to grow leaves, and that bamboo will be "disabled". Not only that, breaking bamboo shoots like that will damage the bamboo bush because later the bamboo will not have enough strength to produce shoots. Furthermore, to make the bamboo shoots grow straight, you must regularly use a machete to clear the thorns around the bamboo bush. Cutting bamboo and breaking bamboo shoots properly helps "nurture" hundreds of green bamboo bushes on the banks of Ky Lo River, both earning money and developing green bamboo.

In the past, I bought bamboo to sell to establishments that made beds, wove furniture, and made bamboo handicrafts, especially sofa sets. However, there was a time when plastic products dominated the market and no one bought bamboo. Now bamboo is scarce because it has an additional use as a raft for raising shrimp and oysters. Every month, I supply thousands of bamboo trees to farmers in Song Cau town.

Mr. Phan Van Sau, a bamboo buyer to supply the lobster farming area in Song Cau town

“The bamboo fence prevents riverbank erosion. Over the years, my family’s agricultural land along the riverbank inside the bamboo fence has not lost an inch. Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, due to the lack of bamboo, dozens of hectares of agricultural land have been eroded and sand has filled in,” said Mr. Cuong.

Below Mr. Cuong's bamboo row is Mr. Manh Nhon's bamboo row of nearly 100 bushes, also in Xuan Quang 2 commune. Talking about the uses of bamboo, Mr. Nhon shared: This area is next to Cai River (Ky Lo River), in the rainy and stormy season, water flows from the mountain down behind the porch, uprooting the pig pen's foundation, causing the roof to tilt and break the armrest, I immediately cut down a bamboo tree to replace it; or like a cow pen that is tilted by a storm, I cut down a male bamboo tree to "support" around the cow pen. Bamboo trees fix emergency situations, providing a place for cows and pigs to stand. Or like a storm that knocks down a power line across the road, I cut down a bamboo tree to support it to "rescue" the electrical system in the house and then replace it with a pole. If there is no bamboo and I have to cut down another tree, it will take a day to find a replacement tree.

“In the past, when people built houses near rice fields, they used bamboo roots to surround them and then poured soil on top. Thanks to that, the soil did not sag and the foundation of the house was firmly held. As for the mounds of land near the mouth of the stream, when the rainy season came, water flowed and rocks fell into the fields. People also used bamboo roots to firmly plant them in the ground and build bamboo banks to prevent rocks from the stream from overflowing,” said Mr. Nhon.

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/xa-hoi/202504/tre-them-cong-dung-nguoi-trong-tang-thu-nhap-6632007/