Clear boundary planting of broom making trees for high income

These days, people in some mountainous communes of Thanh Chuong district are clearly harvesting the tree. It is a naturally growing tree, but it has clearly brought higher income than growing acacia for the people here.

Since ancient times, people have used the reng ren tree for firewood, medicine, and brooms. Currently, the reng ren tree is becoming a “valuable” commodity on the market.

People of Thanh Lam commune (Thanh Chuong) harvest trees on the hill. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Phan Thi Tham (35 years old) in Lam Trang hamlet, Thanh Lam commune, is cutting trees along National Highway 46 and said: No need to invest capital, no need to take care of them, but every year the trees in her hill garden bring income to cover family expenses.

According to Ms. Tham, in the past, before land and forest were allocated, people went up the hills and cut trees freely, each person cut as they pleased. After the forest was divided, most of the wild hills in the localities were covered with acacia trees, and acacia trees only existed on the most barren hills, mainly on rocky hills, and each family protected and harvested them.

The tree can be harvested en masse or selectively. Photo: Huy Thu

With the advantage of the broom above is clean sweeping, durable use, so the demand for raw materials in the market is quite large. From a wild tree species, is being protected by people and increasingly valuable, bringing more income than planting acacia.

Currently in Thanh Lam commune, hamlets such as Lam Son, Tan Son, new village area... there are several dozen families with clearly defined hilly areas, each house about 5-6 sao. Mr. Nguyen Van Son (56 years old) in Nghi Van hamlet has 17 hectares of hilly gardens, most of which are planted with acacia, only 1 hectare planted with cassava and nearly 5 sao are clearly planted. Called "planting" but in fact it is choosing hilly areas with clear trees, clearing away miscellaneous trees, waiting for the harvest season.

Mr. Son said: "Clearly fenced, harvested once a year, bringing income many times higher than growing acacia and cassava. I am planning to expand the area of ​​this tree by a few more hectares, but I don't know how to propagate it. Sowing seeds will not grow well, and digging each root to plant will take a long time."

In Thanh Xuan commune, the hamlets Xuan Son 1, 2, Xuan Thuy, Xuan Dien, have many households that clearly plant trees, of which Xuan Son 1 is the most famous. Households here such as Mr. Nguyen Van Hanh, Phan Thai Xuan, Nguyen Van Ha, Nguyen Van Loc... each household has about 1 hectare of clear trees.

Using a buffalo cart to transport the tree home. Photo by Huy Thu

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Hanh, harvesting is quite simple: If you cut all at once, you cut once a year, take good care of it, sometimes you cut it three times in two years. Usually cut it on a sunny day to dry it, when the tree is dry, you crush it to remove all the flowers and leaves. 1 hectare, each year you can harvest 4.2 - 4.5 tons of dry rice.

If sold at import price, depending on the time and length of the tree, the price ranges from 170,000 to 220,000 VND/yen, which means that 1 hectare can bring in 70-80 million VND/year. If the family takes the time to harvest and make brooms to sell, the income can be doubled.

In addition, the leaves and flowers are also used to extract essential oils and are purchased for 40,000 VND/bag.

Many people in the area also trade in brooms. They can buy them to make brooms, resell them in the markets or import them to big traders to take to the city.

Dried bamboo is bought by traders at high prices. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh in Xuan Lien hamlet said that each nest can make 25-30 brooms, the current price is 8-10 thousand VND/broom.

In addition to Thanh Lam and Thanh Xuan communes, some other communes such as Vo Liet, Thanh Thuy, Thanh Huong... also have many bare hills with clear trees. In general, in Thanh Chuong, clear trees have been bringing in a good income for the people.

Currently, the concern of local people is how to expand the area of ​​​​the tree, to increase income. Because they do not understand the biological characteristics, planting techniques, and care of this wild tree, some households are following folk experience, but the efficiency is not high.