People set up stakes and nets to wait for 'heaven's blessings'

11/17/2024 | 09:03

TPO – After the rice season ends, people add composted manure and plow the soil to make it loose and porous. To make the worms fat, people sprinkle corn flour on the fields and wait until the 10th and 11th lunar months to harvest the worms.

Video of people in Chau Nhan commune (Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An) setting up stakes and nets to wait for "heavenly blessings".

The fields of Chau Nhan commune (Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An) are located close to the Lam river. Here, each field is fully utilized by the people to harvest the earthworms. The earthworms are completely natural, emerging from the soil, so the people often call them "heaven's gift".

Around the ninth lunar month every year, after harvesting rice, people start clearing the fields for the worms to live. People will add composted manure and plow the soil to make it loose and porous, creating a good growing environment for the worms.

After cleaning the fields, people brought bamboo poles and nets to surround their family's fields.

“We have to surround the net so that the worms cannot swim to other people’s fields. Bamboo stakes must be driven deep into the ground and the net must be tied tightly so that it will not be knocked over by wind or tidal water. The bottom of the net must be covered with a layer of mud to make it firm,” Mr. Vo Van Que (residing in Phu Xuan hamlet, Chau Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen, Nghe An) shared while tying the net.

On average, people invest more than 100,000 VND in nets for each sao of rice field. The nets used must be small mesh nets that can drain water well but still retain the worms. After each worm season, people remove the nets to continue using them for the following seasons.

Every day, Mr. Que and the people check the fields and the net pole system to ensure it is secure.

The season of rươi usually starts from the 10th lunar month to the end of the 11th lunar month. Rươi floats randomly with the tide and does not follow a fixed date. There are times when rươi floats during the day, and sometimes at night and people harvest them sporadically. However, rươi still floats in large numbers at the beginning of the month and on the 15th day of the 10th and 11th lunar months.

“Rươi is natural but very demanding, so pesticides are never used in the fields when growing rice. Based on experience, we grind corn into powder, spread it evenly on the field, and then plow it. Doing so will supplement food for the rươi. Thanks to that, the rươi will be fatter, healthier, and of better quality,” said Mr. Vo Van Que, adding that his family has 12 sao of rươi fields. In the 2023 rươi season, after selling and deducting expenses, his family earned more than 50 million VND.

The fields are covered with nets by people waiting to catch "heaven's blessings".

In recent days, when the tide has risen, people have begun to harvest the worms sporadically. At the beginning of the season, people harvest the worms and sell them to traders at prices ranging from 350,000 VND to 400,000 VND/kg of worms.

Mr. Le Khanh Quang - Chairman of Chau Nhan Commune People's Committee said that the whole commune has nearly 40 hectares of rice fields with earthworms with about 300 households harvesting earthworms. On average, each sao of rice field yields 15-20 kg of earthworms per crop. Although the area of ​​rice fields with earthworms is small, accounting for less than 10% of the total agricultural land of the commune, the value of earthworms accounts for nearly 15% of the commune's agricultural output. Compared to many other crops and livestock, earthworms have high economic value, helping many households escape poverty and have a large additional budget.

Ngoc Tu