Ky Son: Prospects from hawthorn trees

(Baonghean) - These days, in some places in Muong Xen Town (Ky Son), people are selling hawthorn fruit (a traditional oriental medicine that is good for health) at a price of about 15,000 VND/kg. According to the sellers, the quantity of hawthorn here is mainly brought by Mong people in Tay Son commune.

Arriving at Huoi Giang 3 village, Tay Son commune, I met Mr. Vu No Bi, who often goes into the forest to pick wild apples to sell. Mr. Bi said that since the beginning of the season, he has gone into the forest many times to find wild apples but only got about 50 - 60kg. This is a tree species that grows in Pun Lon forest but the quantity is not much, sometimes from morning to night he only finds a few trees. If you are lucky, you will find a tree with fruit, and if you try to pick it, you can earn a few hundred thousand dong.

Dong 1 Village, Tay Son Commune (Ky Son) - an area with many hawthorn trees in the forest

Leaving Huoi Giang, following the Nam Mo stream, to Canh village (center of Ta Ca commune), we found our way to Dong 1 and Dong 2 villages. The road was steep and winding, slippery and landslide-prone, the motorbike could only be used in first gear, occasionally in second gear.

Many sections of the road were covered with fog, and even with the lights on, it was impossible to see the scenery ahead. Dong 1 and Dong 2 villages are located at an altitude of over 1,300m above sea level, at the intersection of the Pun Lon, Pu Xai and Pu Mo ranges. This is also the border area between Tay Son commune and Muong Tip, Na Ngoi.

Hawthorn trees grow around Dong 1 village, Tay Son commune (Ky Son)

This area has quite a lot of hawthorn trees, according to local people's estimates, 20 hectares of natural forest have about 200 - 300 trees. Hawthorn trees here bear a lot of fruit, often falling at the end of autumn.

A notable feature is that this tree does not bear fruit every year, especially in some years when the entire forest does not have a single tree bearing fruit. This year, the hawthorn trees in the forests have a lot of fruit, becoming a valuable “gift” for the Mong people, helping them have an additional source of income.

Mr. Ha Giong Cu (Dong 2 village), the person who has collected the most hawthorn fruits in the village, said: "Since the beginning of the season, we have collected about 400 kg of hawthorn fruits from the forest, selling them for nearly 5 million VND. Now it is more difficult to collect them, because we have to go far away, sometimes it takes a whole day to collect more than ten kg."

. Hawthorn fruit helps people in Dong 1 village have more income.

Arriving at Dong 1 village, Mr. Ha Va Khu said that the day before, he had just transported 50 kg of hawthorn apples to sell in Muong Xen town. Since the beginning of the season, Mr. Khu has harvested more than 700 kg of hawthorn apples, earning a considerable amount of money compared to farming.

Also in Dong 1 village, we met Ha Ba Chu walking from the edge of the forest back to the village, carrying a heavy sack of hawthorn apples on his back. Ha Ba Chu said: "Today I was lucky, because I found a tree with many fruits, about 30 kg of hawthorn apples".

Traders in Ky Son buy wild apples to sell in Muong Xen Town.

Up to now, many people have seen this tree growing in the forest but no one knows its value, just let the tree bear fruit and then fall. The person who brought the hawthorn fruit to the market is Mr. Ha Ba Tenh in Son Ha village (Ta Ca), a teacher at Tay Son Primary School, currently working at Dong 2 village school.

Mr. Tenh has a younger brother who works at the People's Committee of Huoi Tu commune. A commune official gave him several kilos of hawthorn apples after a trip to Sa Pa. In Sa Pa, the price of hawthorn apples is up to 70,000 VND/kg. Born and raised in Dong 1 village, Mr. Tenh and his younger brother know very well that in the Pun Lon forest, the area around the village has many hawthorn apple trees, many of which bear fruit in the fall.

This year, the crab apple trees are very fruitful, many trees have started to fall, Mr. Ha Ba Tenh took the opportunity to go into the forest to collect the fruits for his wife to sell in Muong Xen Town. Not only Mr. Tenh's wife but also many other people went to the village to collect crab apples to sell in the center of Ky Son district.

Cat apples are sold quite a lot in Muong Xen Town.

Through discussion with Mr. Mua Nhia Vu, Chairman of Tay Son Commune People's Committee, it is known that the hawthorn tree has been present in Tay Son forest for a long time. This is a tree that prefers cold climates, usually grows at an altitude of 1,300m or higher, and drops its fruit in late autumn. Asked about the possibility of planning to grow hawthorn trees as a commercial tree, helping people increase their income, Mr. Mua Nhia Vu affirmed: "That is a reasonable direction, exploiting the advantages of land and climate to develop the economy. But we must carefully study the characteristics of this tree variety before planning for development. Recently, the Provincial Ethnic Committee supported the commune with some seedlings, currently the plants are growing normally but we have to wait 5-7 years to confirm their effectiveness."

Mr. Tran Tuan Thi, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Ethnic Minority Development Support and Consultation Center (Provincial Ethnic Minority Committee) said: “The Center is advising the Provincial People's Committee to build a pilot model of growing hawthorn trees in Ky Son, Que Phong and Tuong Duong districts. If successful, the model will be expanded to help people increase their income, create jobs and contribute to sustainable hunger eradication and poverty reduction.”

KIEN - PHUONG