Digging up 'scary creatures' earns millions
Earthworms look scary but are a clean, nutritious food. Quang Ngai people dig up earthworms and sell them for 300,000 VND/kg.
After floods, the alluvial plains of major rivers are covered with a layer of fertile alluvium. That is also the time when earthworms thrive the most. Quang Ngai people rush to dig earthworms to sell to restaurants and pubs for 300,000 VND/kg.
Many good diggers, who find land with many worms living, can earn millions of dong per day.
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| At this time, people in Tu Nghia and Nghia Hanh districts (Quang Ngai province) invite each other to the alluvial plains of large rivers such as Tra Khuc and Ve rivers to dig for worms. |
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| Mr. Pham Loi (Hanh Tin Tay commune, Nghia Hanh district) has participated in digging earthworms on the alluvial flats along the Ve river for many years. Mr. Loi said that the earthworm season lasts from late September to late December every year. The time when the earthworms are the biggest and most delicious is after each big flood. "This worm looks disgusting but lives on the alluvial flats so it is clean, delicious and very nutritious. The land where cassava is grown has the most earthworms, the earthworms here are also bigger and more delicious than other areas," Mr. Loi shared. |
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| People choose areas where they grow peanuts, corn, sweet potatoes and especially cassava to dig. The worms breed at a depth of about 20 cm under the alluvial soil layer. They do not leave any signs on the ground, so to catch them, you have to dig up successive layers of soil. |
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| When digging up the worms, people will cut off the bottom to remove the intestines and then soak them in water. When they get home, the worms will be cleaned again, boiled and sold to restaurants and pubs for 300,000 VND/kg. The worms are processed into delicious and nutritious grilled or fried dishes. |
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| On holidays, children also participate in digging earthworms to sell. |
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| The price of earthworms is high, and the amount of earthworms on the alluvial land is quite large, so many people participate in digging for earthworms to earn extra income. Many people who dig land with a lot of earthworms can earn millions of dong per day. "That land has just been dug up, but after a few days of digging, there are still worms. Earthworms reproduce very quickly. Catching them to sell not only makes money but also protects crops because this is a harmful species," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Van (Hanh Tin Dong commune, Nghia Hanh district). |
