Carrying 'forest' to the city - the simplicity of the highlands

(Baonghean.vn) - The cries of "Muong oi", "Che oi!" ... have long since become familiar sounds every morning in Hoa Binh town (Tuong Duong). The image of women carrying baskets of clean agricultural products from the mountains and forests to sell to customers in the city has contributed to the simple beauty of the highlands.

Early morning in Hoa Binh town is romantic and peaceful...

But in a moment, the town "wakes up" in daily activities. Among the traffic, the image of people carrying heavy loads of firewood to earn a living like this becomes a characteristic of the highland town. Each load of firewood earns about 30,000 - 50,000 VND, but many times the women have to carry it on their shoulders and walk dozens of kilometers to reach the town.

'In the past, villagers often carried agricultural or forest products harvested from the forest down to the mountain town to sell in exchange for food. They carried their baskets from house to house to solicit. Now "tNowadays, many women in the village use bicycles to go around selling their wares. The cries of "Ai rau doiiii!", "Chè day!" can be heard all over the street...

Even though there is a market in town, baskets and vegetable carts like this are still favored by many townspeople because of their preference for clean agricultural products from the mountains and forests.

The vegetable stall not only has vegetables, but also sometimes has unexpected specialties, this is dried frogs, a specialty of ethnic minorities.

Women "compete" to buy galangal. The native galangal is much more fragrant and aromatic than the galangal grown on other lands.

Caught two old ladies carrying a few bottles of wild honey and offering to buy it at the door of the town's residents.

After carrying their loads around town, by noon all the goods were gone. The women walked back to their villages to farm, raise livestock, leisurely catch stream fish, pick wild vegetables... preparing for tomorrow's market.

Thanh Cuong