The season for hunting for wild flowers.

(Baonghean.vn) - The "dot" plant (also known as "chit") is a type of wild plant whose flowers bloom in early spring. The "dot" flower is the main ingredient for making "dot" brooms, a common household item. During the "dot" flowering season, people in the mountainous communes of Thanh Chuong district are quite busy harvesting and selling them in the forest.

Locals have to venture into dangerous areas of the forest, such as along cliffs and stream banks, to find the wild jasmine flowers. Photo: Dinh Ha

For several days now, people in the Thai and Khmu villages of the resettlement communes in Thanh Chuong district have been waking up very early to rush into the forest to pick reed flowers. They consider this a "gift from the forest" because many families have escaped poverty thanks to reeds.

Dot is a type of plant that grows naturally only in high hills and mountains. In Thanh Chuong district, it is concentrated in the communes of Thanh Son, Ngoc Lam, Hanh Lam, and Thanh Thuy. To obtain beautiful dot flowers, harvesters must go deep into areas of forest that were burned the previous year or search along hillsides, rivers, and streams. Dot can grow in large patches or in individual clumps, clinging precariously to cliffs. The plant is not tall and is as soft as reeds, but its leaves are very sharp, so picking the flowers is not easy.

After harvesting, the reeds are brought back and dried in the sun. Photo: Dinh Ha

Ms. Kha Thi Tinh, a person who specializes in harvesting reeds in Kim Lien village, Ngoc Lam commune, said: "At the beginning of the season, or if we are lucky enough to find an area with a lot of reeds, each person can harvest 40-50 kg per day, but on average, we only harvest 20-25 kg per day. However, reeds are very easy to sell."

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, from Hamlet 9, Thanh Thinh Commune - a person who specializes in buying fresh reeds from local people - he and many other local residents of Thanh Huong and Thanh Thinh communes used to harvest reeds, but now that the forests have been allocated to resettled households, he only buys them. “These days, around 3-4 pm, buyers and sellers are bustling all over the forest. Currently, the price of one kilogram of fresh reeds here is about 4,000 VND.”

Besides buying and selling at the forest edge, many households in the broom-making villages of Thanh Linh commune also source broom grass from Ky Son, Tuong Duong, and Que Phong districts... They bring money there to place orders with local agents, who will transport the collected grass back when the truck is full. Alternatively, they can call to place orders and pay upon delivery, which is very convenient.

Mr. Tran Dinh Sy, residing in Linh Thanh village, Thanh Linh commune, stated that he purchases approximately 5 tons of reeds annually. The average price at his home is around 5,500 VND per kilogram of fresh reeds, "more expensive than buying them at the forest entrance, but I can buy more and they are delivered right to my door."

Once you have 4-5 reeds, you can begin the process of bundling them into brooms. Photo: Dinh Ha

Along with buying, drying, and storing the reeds, broom making is a year-round activity in traditional craft villages. After drying, the reeds are stripped of their branches and bundled together to form what are called "con dot" (columns of reeds). Once four or five bundles are gathered, brooms are strung together. Rattan or nylon threads are used to tie the bundles together to form a broom. Broom making can be done year-round, but is most productive during the rainy season and periods of agricultural inactivity.

According to broom makers, each broom currently sells for 25,000 - 30,000 VND. After deducting expenses, producers earn approximately 12,000 - 15,000 VND per broom. Each person can make 10 - 15 brooms per day, resulting in an average monthly income of around 4 million VND. This is a high income in rural areas.

Tran Dinh Ha