The sun is blazing hot, but people still rake mussels through the afternoon on Lam River.
An Nam - May 5, 2023 17:10
(Baonghean.vn) - Despite the heat, people in Thanh Tien commune (Thanh Chuong) still persevere in raking mussels all afternoon on Lam river. Although the work is hard, people still have extra income.
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| These days, the weather is hot, but people in My Chua and Hoang Chua hamlets, Thanh Tien commune still persistently rake mussels all afternoon on Lam River. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| According to the locals, mussels on the Lam River are quite rare these days, so raking and catching mussels is difficult. In the past, you could find mussels on the river, but now there are very few sections of the river with many mussels to rake. People here mainly rake mussels by hand, carrying the rake backward on the river. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Mr. Le Huy Quang (51 years old) from My Chua hamlet shared: In the past, there were dozens of families in the hamlet who raked mussels. Now, due to the scarcity of mussels, only 4-5 households still do the job. The tool used to catch mussels is a long-handled iron rake. Each rake usually gets both mussels and gravel. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| According to Mr. Quang, along the Lam River, finding a river section with mussels is difficult, so whether the mussels are big or small, with lots of gravel or little gravel, you have to try to rake them. Be persistent and diligent, and you will find a few hundred mussels each time you go to the river. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The households that make clams here often work as a couple. Every time they stop the boat and put down the rake, the husband rakes, the wife picks, or both husband and wife work together. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| To make baskets of fresh, clean mussels, mussel rakers have to work under the hot sun and soak in water all day. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Le, from Hoang Chua hamlet, said: He and his wife often rake mussels on the river from morning through noon until 2-3 pm. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| After being raked, the mussels are cleaned, all stones and dirt are picked up. According to the locals, each trip to the river, each boat (2 people) usually rakes 40 - 50 kg, some days when they find mussels, they get more. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Ms. Tran Thi Van, Mr. Le's wife, said: In the past, people who went to catch mussels only chose river sections with large mussels to catch. Now, people catch them in large numbers, continuously, all year round. In addition, the mussels' living environment has changed a lot, so mussels are becoming rarer and smaller. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| After a whole day of soaking in the water and pulling rakes under the sun, when tired, everyone will get on the boat to go home. Regardless of how much or how little they get, the mussels are still cheerful and excited. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| In the past, Thanh Tien commune people often imported mussel shells for traders, but now there are few mussels, so households organize to cook mussels and sell mussels to local people or passersby. According to the people, 10kg of mussel shells can cook about 1.2kg of mussels. The price of mussels fluctuates around 150,000 VND/kg. Making mussels on hot days is hard work, but each household can still earn money.500 000 - 600 000VND/day. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Clam raking on Lam River on a hot day. Video: Huy Thu
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