Sweet taste of longan flower season in Muong Lo

Traveling along Highway 32, passing winding mountain passes and the majestic Ach Pass, we arrived at the Muong Lo – Nghia Lo basin on an early summer morning. The whole land seemed to be awakened by the humming harmony of cicadas, in the immense white color of longan flower gardens in full bloom. The gentle scent of longan flowers mixed with the early season breeze made people suddenly feel leisurely and strangely comfortable.

This land is blessed with a subtropical temperate climate, little affected by the Northeast monsoon, with plenty of sunshine and little rain - an ideal condition for growing fruit trees, including longan. And at the same time that longan flowers bloom, nature's diligent "friends" - bees - begin their sweet honey season.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Dung, a person who has been involved in beekeeping for more than 20 years in village 3, Nghia Lo commune, shared with me as a confidant of bees: "This year, the weather is favorable, longan flowers bloom a lot, and honey is also abundant. Every longan flower season, my whole family gets into the season, harvesting honey is as bustling as a festival."

In Nghia Lo commune, native honey bees are still the preferred choice of the people. This bee breed is gentle, easy to raise, adapts well to the mountainous climate and can especially collect honey from wild flowers. However, longan flowers are still the main flower, with a long blooming season, abundant and high-quality honey source, helping bees to be healthy and energetic after a winter of honey scarcity.

Mr. Dung added: "Beekeeping is not difficult, but it requires meticulousness, perseverance and a true love for the job. Harvesting honey is the most difficult step. You have to choose the right beehive, measure the right density of honey, and then carefully cut the 'screw cap'. This is usually done by men because it requires endurance, perseverance and calmness."

At this time, longan flowers are in full bloom in Nghia Lo commune, Nghia Lo town.

Each beehive can yield up to 1 liter of honey. On average, each hive has 4-5 beehives, so just counting the longan flower season, some households can harvest nearly a thousand liters of honey. But what is valuable is not only the yield, but also the flavor: longan flower honey is sweet, smooth, golden like the early summer sunlight, carrying the essence of Muong Lo's heaven and earth. Currently, the price of honey raised in Nghia Lo commune ranges from 260,000 to over 300,000 VND/liter, bringing in an income of 30 to 40 million VND for a household raising about 100 honey bee colonies.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ty - another beekeeper in Nghia Lo commune, Nghia Lo town said: "Currently, people no longer produce alone but have linked up and cooperated with each other to share experiences and expand the bee area. Since then, cooperatives and beekeepers from Van Chan and Tran Yen have also brought bee colonies to place under Muong Lo longan gardens, creating a very special 'honey migration'. Thanks to understanding the process of bee care and movement, the bees quickly adapted, contributing to improving the quality and yield of honey."

Mr. Tran Van Ly - Director of Van Hoi Beekeeping Cooperative (Tran Yen) shared more: "We consider bees as artisans. Bees choose each flower, carefully collect each drop of honey to create the quintessence of the mountains and forests. And beekeepers are also artisans who are always persistent, meticulous, and creative to bring the sweetness of nature to everyone. Therefore, each member of the Cooperative always cares, shares experiences, helps, and supports each other in the process of raising, transporting, harvesting, and selling bee products."

Each blooming season of longan flowers is an opportunity for beekeepers to increase their income, especially when honey prices are stable and favored by the market. With favorable natural conditions, plus experience accumulated over many years, beekeeping in Nghia Lo not only contributes to improving household economy but also opens up a direction for agricultural development associated with regional specialties.

Hoai Van

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/349767/Vi-ngot-mua-hoa-nhan-Muong-Lo.aspx