Since the beginning of August, people living near the protective forest areas in Huong Hoa district, especially in Huong Tan commune - where there is a large and long-standing area of Trầu trees - have started to pick and harvest old, ripe Trầu fruits to sell for extra income. Trầu fruits are a source of livelihood that helps local ethnic minorities cover their family life...
Ms. Ho Thi Dong selects old tamarind fruits to harvest - Photo: D.V
Pick up "forest treasure"
In early August, when the old Trau fruits fall, many Van Kieu ethnic minority people in Huong Tan commune go into the forest to collect them to make a living. This is the time when farmers are idle after finishing their farming work and also when students are on summer vacation, so from the elderly, adults to children, everyone takes advantage of the time to try to find as many Trau fruits as possible to increase their income.
Walking along the road to the wind power project area in Huong Tan commune, we came across two women, Ho Thi Co and Ho Thi Dong, both from Tram village, sitting separating the seeds they had just picked up in the forest. With their nimble and skillful hands, in just a moment, the two women had separated more than ten kilograms of seeds from the ripe black seeds.
Ms. Dong said that for many days now, at around 4am, she and Ms. Co have set out into the forest to pick up the fruit. “The fruit usually falls at night, so we have to go early. In recent years, every time the fruit ripens, we have had a significant additional income, earning an average of 200-250 thousand VND per day, sometimes even more. Here, in addition to the income from farming and rice fields, the fruit has contributed a lot to improving my family’s life,” Ms. Dong said.
According to the women, if the shell is removed to get the kernel, if sold fresh at the current early season price, it will be about 5,000 VND/kg, and if dried in the sun, it will be sold for about 10,000 - 12,000 VND/kg.
Sitting next to her, Ms. Co added: “The job of collecting wild betel nuts is quite simple, and we earn money to cover our daily expenses, so every season, my sisters and I go into the forest to collect wild betel nuts. After collecting them all at the edge of the forest, we go further and deeper into the forest. To benefit in the long term, we always follow the advice of forest rangers to harvest wild betel nuts. Pick the old ones, pick the fallen ones, and do not cut down the trees or break the branches,” Ms. Co said.
Ho Lam Hoang, a 9th grader - Mr. Mung's nephew - collects betel leaves to earn money to buy books and clothes before the new school year - Photo: D.V
Not far away, we saw Mr. Ho Van Mung (61 years old) and his grandson Ho Lam Hoang, a 9th grade student in Huong Tan commune, hurrying under the canopy of the cajuput forest to his field. Mr. Mung said: “My family has about 1 hectare of cau trees mixed with acacia trees. Every time the fruit ripens and falls, my grandfather and I go to the field to pick the fruit. After harvesting the cau trees in our field, we go to the protective forests to pick more.
This season, whenever I have free time, I go into the forest to pick up and sell betel leaves to earn extra income. After many hours of searching a part of the forest, Mr. Mung and his grandson came out sweating with two sacks full of betel leaves. Pointing at the sacks they had just picked up, Mr. Mung happily said: “Today, my grandfather and I will probably pick up more than the previous days. In just half a day, we have two full sacks of betel leaves weighing more than 40 kg. At the beginning of the season, the price is only over 5,000 VND/kg, usually at the end of the season the price is higher. Picking hard, my grandfather and I can earn from 400,000 to 500,000 VND each day.”
While chatting with us, Ho Lam Hoang boasted that he had just bought new clothes and books to prepare for the upcoming school year.
“I have been able to buy clothes and books thanks to selling tung seeds for more than half a month now. I will take advantage of this opportunity to collect tung seeds from now until the new school year starts to earn money to help my parents and buy more school supplies,” Hoang said. Not only Hoang, but on the way to the protective forests in the Huong Tan wind power project area, we also met many children of primary and secondary school age following their relatives to collect tung seeds to help their parents earn extra income.
Multi-purpose tree, many benefits
We followed Mr. Nguyen Huu Xuan, an employee of Huong Phung Forest Protection Management Station, under the Huong Hoa - Dakrong Forest Protection Management Board, to some forest edges with many tung trees in Huong Tan commune. At this time, the old tung trees in this area have been harvested in full swing. Along the way, there were many motorbikes of local people parked on the side of the road waiting to transport tung trees home.
According to statistics, Quang Tri currently has nearly 3,000 hectares of tung forest, accounting for over 21% of the total tung area in the country, mainly concentrated in Huong Hoa and Dakrong districts. The tung area in protective forests accounts for over 83%, the rest is on people's production forest land. The tung tree has both protective value and provides livelihoods for people in mountainous areas with an output of about 1,000 tons/year. The goal of Quang Tri province from now to 2026 is to harvest about 4,000 tons of tung, equivalent to a commercial value of about 50 billion VND per year. This is a significant source of income, helping people living near protective forests improve their lives. |
Huong Phung Forest Protection Management Station is responsible for protecting protective forests with an area of about 2,500 hectares, of which there are about 1,000 hectares of tung trees. “This is a mixed auxiliary tree species, which has both a protective function and brings significant economic value to local people. During tung harvest season, we often propagate and mobilize people to harvest sustainably, without cutting down trees or breaking branches. Realizing the long-term benefits of tung trees, people all comply with harvesting and protecting the trees,” Mr. Xuan happily said.
According to Mr. Xuan, the tung tree is a fast-growing tree that does not require much care like other trees. In particular, this tree is suitable for some areas in Huong Hoa district such as: Huong Tan, Huong Phung, Tan Thanh, Huong Linh and Huong Son. Instead of normally taking up to 7 years for the tree to bear fruit, in these areas, the tung tree grows quickly, closing its canopy in the 3rd or 4th year, then flowering and bearing fruit.
“The tung tree can regenerate from seeds and grows quickly. The tree has the advantage of shedding its leaves in winter (from around November to February of the following year), then covering itself with green leaves in summer (from around April to November), thus providing shade and moistening the soil, creating conditions for many types of low-lying plants to grow,” said Mr. Xuan. Through research, it is known that tung trees are not only valuable in protection, preventing erosion and landslides, but tung fruit also provides essential oils as raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry, paint processing, varnish, printing ink, and biofuel. In recent years, the average purchase price of fresh tung seeds in Huong Hoa district has been from 8,000 - 14,000 VND/kg, and at the beginning of the season from 5,000 - 8,000 VND/kg.
Deputy Director of Huong Hoa - Dakrong Forest Protection Management Board Bui Van Thinh said that currently in Huong Hoa district, there are about 2,500 hectares of tung trees, planted by Huong Hoa Forestry in 1991 and 1992, now managed by the board. The tung trees usually bloom at the end of February every year, and are harvested around August - September. According to Mr. Thinh, to protect the tung forest to ensure fruit yield every year, every tung season, many officers of the board and stations are often present in the forests to propagate to people not to cut branches or cut down trees.
Mr. Thinh added that the tung tree grows and develops well on many types of soil, from acidic and alum-flooded soil to hilly land, barren land, and land affected by toxic chemicals left by war. This is also one of the pioneering trees, growing quickly to cover the green, creating a good forest environment for native trees to regenerate. The tung tree is also multi-purpose, in addition to its protective function, it also brings economic value.
German Vietnamese
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/mua-nhat-hat-trau-188003.htm
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