The hard work of 'acacia wood workers' in the mountainous region of Ha Tinh

TPO - Exploiting and transporting acacia wood for hire is a hard and dangerous job, but for people in the highlands of Ha Tinh , it is a job that has followed them for many years. Every day, they go to work from 5am and finish in the late afternoon to earn 400,000 - 600,000 VND/day.

March 16, 2025 | 06:00

TPO - Exploiting and transporting acacia wood for hire is a hard and dangerous job, but for people in the highlands of Ha Tinh, it is a job that has been with them for many years. Every day, they go to work from 5am and finish in the late afternoon to earn 400,000 - 600,000 VND/day.

Acacia exploitation in the mountainous region of Ha Tinh. Video : Pham Truong.

Acacia hills in Ky Anh, Cam Xuyen, Huong Khe districts... (Ha Tinh) are in harvest season after 5-7 years of planting.

To harvest acacia wood, traders not only hire machinery to clear the way, but also hire groups of local people to saw, peel the bark and transport it to trucks. Their work starts from 5am to late afternoon.

When exploited, acacia trees will be divided into two types: wood acacia and miscellaneous acacia. The wood part is the large diameter tree stump, which traders will collect to sell to paper mills. The miscellaneous wood part will be cut into small pieces and sold to charcoal burning stations at a cheaper price.

Mr. Canh (Ky Anh district) said that acacia harvesting is not seasonal, but only when the acacia trees are ready for exploitation, will the owners of the acacia gardens call to sell. "Acacia harvesting is very hard work. If you can buy acacia hills close to the road, easy to travel, it will reduce labor and transportation costs. As for acacia gardens in areas with difficult access, if you want to exploit them, you have to open a road for transport vehicles to the nearest place and hire about 10 workers to saw, cut, and carry," he said.

The job of exploiting acacia trees deep in the forest is hard and dangerous, only suitable for men, but for women in Ky Phong commune (Ky Anh district), this has become a profession they have been attached to for many years.

In addition to farming, most of the women in this area work as hired laborers to carry acacia wood to earn extra income. Each acacia logging group usually has 1-2 sawmill operators and 10 people to peel, load, and transport the acacia to the truck.

When harvested, acacia trees are cut into 1-2 meter long pieces for easy transport and loading onto trucks. The women use 20cm long iron hooks to manually peel the bark.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung (44 years old, resident of Ky Phong commune) said that because she did not have much land, she worked as a hired acacia wood porter. "My husband and I have 4 children, so in addition to farming, we have to find extra work. Although peeling and loading acacia wood for hire is hard work, the daily income of about 400,000 VND helps to cover our living expenses," Ms. Dung said.

For those who work as acacia harvesters, it is common to have scratches on their hands and shoulders, or to step on thorns, or fall and bleed. Sometimes, when loading logs onto trucks, logs fall on people’s feet and bodies, which is not uncommon.

Although it is hard, with extra income to raise their children and educate them, they clearly show their joy.

Even though I wore several layers of gloves, the continuous work and sweat made my hands calloused and torn.

Logging acacia wood takes place all day, sometimes until night, so for these "acacia workers", resting and eating on the hill is a familiar thing. Although the job is hard, the income of 400,000 - 600,000 VND for each job also helps them to have extra money to cover their expenses.

Pham Truong

Source: https://tienphong.vn/vat-va-nghe-phu-go-keo-o-vung-nui-ha-tinh-post1725244.tpo