Crab village

(Baonghean.vn) - At noon or late afternoon, traveling along National Highway 7, we see groups of motorbikes going downstream, both the drivers and the motorbike taxi drivers carrying plastic buckets with them. Those are the people of Yen Thanh returning from catching crabs. This job has long been the livelihood of many people in the rice fields.

Yen Thanh people go catching crabs in the fields in Do Luong.

In Yen Thanh, almost every commune has people who catch crabs to sell, but the most concentrated are in My Thanh, Khanh Thanh communes... especially Cong Thanh commune where hundreds of people are attached to the crab catching profession. They choose to catch crabs to make a living because this is an easy job, does not require capital investment but only requires diligence, diligence in groping and picking up in the fields to be able to earn money.

There are many ways to catch crabs (picking them up in the middle of the field, hooking them in the caves, etc.), depending on the time, they can catch them during the day or at night, from far away or near. Every day, people who go to catch crabs from far away wake up at 4am. They usually make an appointment in advance for about 5-6 people to go together in a group, to support each other when necessary. The crab catching tools are simple, just a small bucket, a snake bag and a sharpened bamboo stick. Taking advantage of going to work early, they rarely eat breakfast at home but often go to the shops along Highway 7 to buy some banh chung to bring to the fields to eat.

Means and tools for catching crabs of Cong Thanh people (Yen Thanh).

From Yen Thanh, crab catchers spread out to Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Do Luong, Anh Son, Tan Ky districts... Their daily round trip distance is about 100 - 130 km. They mainly "work" in the fields of Do Luong, and on days when crabs are priced well, they go further, following the Ho Chi Minh road to communes in Tan Ky, such as Nghia Dung, Nghia Hop, Nghia Dong...

Night crab catching usually does not go very far, in addition to normal tools, a flashlight is needed. It is important to charge the flashlight fully to prolong the crab catching time. From 6pm they start going to the fields and finish work at 5pm. The job of catching crabs requires going early and coming back late, working all night, when there are few crabs, they have to go from the open field to the dense field. In addition to the cold wind, sun, rain, sometimes they also have to come into contact with chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides or snakes. The most difficult thing is having to dig crabs in the cave until their hands are sore. The hands of crab catchers are often covered with tears, scratches, sometimes they are pinched by crabs and swell up...

The result after a crab hunting session.

Each crab catching session, usually in the morning and back in the afternoon, each person earns about 3-5 kg ​​of crab, if they catch crabs all day, they earn more. They sell the crabs to the purchasing point in the district before leaving. The current price of crabs is 35,000 VND/kg, at peak times it is 90,000 VND/kg. After deducting gas money, each person earns about 100,000 VND/session.

A crab purchasing point in Do Luong.

Around 11am, on Highway 7, groups of motorbikes of people who went to catch crabs in Yen Thanh will leave one by one, all of them with dirty clothes.

Present at Son Long hamlet - the famous "crab hamlet" in Cong Thanh commune, when the workers here have finished a working day. Ms. Nguyen Thi Sen (50 years old), who has decades of experience in crab catching, shared: "Catching crabs is hard but there is no need to worry. In this village, many households earn money thanks to crabs, have money to pay for their children's education, buy fertilizer, and seeds for production."

A woman is catching crabs "mà" (cave).

Son Long hamlet currently has 87 households, of which more than 50 households regularly go crab catching all year round, except during heavy rains and storms. Adults often go far away to catch crabs, catching all night, while children, because they are busy with school, often catch crabs nearby. Typical households include: Tran Khac Mien, Nguyen Trong Nhan, Nguyen Van Linh... Especially Mr. Nguyen Van Men's household, with 8 people, from poverty and hunger, thanks to crab catching, they have become well-off, well-fed, able to build decent houses, and buy many expensive conveniences.

People catch crabs on the way to Yen Thanh along Highway 7.

Many people in Cong Thanh commune said that after years of hard work raising pigs, which did not bring much profit and caused environmental pollution, many families have "changed their fate" to catch crabs and have been attached to this profession for a long time. Catching crabs is the livelihood of many people in Son Long, Tan Long, and Cong Luan hamlets./.

Huy Thu