Tree circus profession in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - Every year, in the fall (from July to September) are busy days for those who work as tree climbers - a profession of "tree circus" with many lurking dangers.
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| These days, in Anh Son, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong districts, it is easy to see people riding motorbikes carrying rolls of nets, net bags, and long poles; they are definitely people who work as climbers. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Canarium trees that produce a large amount of fruit today are mainly perennial, tall canarium trees in people's gardens. Canarium trees are difficult to pick because they are tall, have wide canopies, and small, black fruits that are mixed in with the branches and leaves, making them difficult to detect. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Mr. Nguyen Van Dong - a long-time climber of canarium in Linh Son commune, Anh Son district, said: The first difficulty in picking canarium is climbing the tree, because the canarium tree trunk is tens of meters high, smooth and straight. Those who are good at climbing can hold on to the tree and climb up, otherwise, they have to put up a ladder, make a "dây" (bamboo) against the main tree, to climb up. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Climbing up a canarium tree is difficult, poking the fruit to fall to the ground is even more difficult. Because the canarium tree is extremely precarious, the climber must maintain balance and use all the "tricks" of standing, sitting, hugging, bending, stretching, reaching... to poke the canarium fruit. Mr. Tran Van Ky (59 years old) in Thanh Tien commune, Thanh Chuong district - a person with decades of experience in climbing canarium trees said: The most dangerous thing about climbing canarium trees is that the tree is tall, the branches are brittle, and break easily, so if you are careless, you can fall to the ground. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| For those who work as canarium climbers, sitting on trees to pick canarium is a normal thing. They even naturally walk on tree branches like performing circus acts. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Although climbing trees is a difficult and dangerous job, most of the workers are subjective and rarely wear safety belts when climbing trees, because according to them, "wearing safety belts on trees is cumbersome and difficult to work". Recently, after a number of tragic accidents, many people climbing trees have equipped themselves with safety belts. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Climbing and picking canarium fruits from the tree is difficult, picking them from the roots also requires patience and hard work. In places where it is not possible to spread out nets to catch them, canarium pickers have to search for each fruit among the grass and bushes. If the canarium fruits are not picked in time and left to dry in the sun, they will all ripen and soften, causing a loss of harvest. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Sometimes I have to climb up palm trees to search and collect each fallen star fruit stuck there. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The profession of climbing canarium trees sometimes depends on "the eye for the eye", the weather, luck... Although it is hard and dangerous, people in the countryside where canarium trees are found still have to stick with the profession to make a living. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Black canarium fruit - a clean, delicious specialty of the midlands and mountains of Nghe An. Photo: Huy Thu |
