(Baonghean.vn)-Every year, the canarium season comes,The people who work as 'tréom climbers' in Thanh Chuong are busy climbing trees and picking fruit - a job that pays well but not many people can do.
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| The land of Nhut is famous for its delicious, fatty black canarium. This tree is widely distributed in the communes of Hanh Lam, Thanh Duc, Thanh Nho, Thanh My, Cat Van... In recent years, the number of hybrid canariums has also been planted in large numbers. However, the main fruiting trees today are natural, perennial canariums in gardens and hills with the characteristics of tall, large trees that are difficult to climb and pick. |
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| The tool for picking canarium is very simple, just a crescent-shaped piece of metal or a knife blade tied diagonally on a pole, the top used to cut the fruit bunch, the bottom used to hang on the branch. |
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| The profession of “tréom climbing”, more precisely the profession of selling tram on trees, is closely related to climbing and picking. This is a relatively dangerous profession, not everyone can do it. To pursue this profession, first of all, you must know how to climb trees, be brave, and then you need to have some experience in measuring and buying and selling. The most difficult part of picking tram is climbing, because the tree trunk is smooth, straight, and has no place to hold on. |
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| When picking canarium, just stand on the tree and use a pole to cut the fruit clusters. Canarium branches are brittle and break easily, so if you are careless, the canarium climber can fall to the ground. However, most people who climb canarium are subjective in ensuring safety, few of them wear safety belts... |
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| For canarium trees in unfavorable terrain, before picking, large nets are spread around the base of the tree to catch the canarium. When picking is finished, just gather the nets and collect the fruit. Each group of canarium picking usually has at least 2 people: the person picking on the tree and the person picking the fruit at the base. |
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| When picking canarium, both the fruit and leaves fall down at the same time. If the canarium is sharp, it will fall immediately if you touch it, but if it is tough, you have to cut the whole bunch. |
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| Mr. Luu Van Thang and his wife in Hamlet 5, Thanh Nho Commune, go to pick canarium in Hanh Lam Commune. Mr. Thang said: Every canarium season, you have to buy and deposit before the fruit is still green, wait for the canarium to ripen, pay the owner and pick. People who buy canarium, with little capital, have tens of millions of dong, with long capital, several hundred million dong, buy all over Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Do Luong and Huong Son commune (Ha Tinh)... |
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| Every day, a good canarium picker can only climb about 2-3 big trees, collecting several hundred kilograms of fruit. After being picked, the canarium fruit is put into a loose, airy mesh bag for transport. If it is put into a sealed, hot bag, it will ripen quickly and cannot be kept for long. |
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| Canarium pickers usually measure their strength to pick a few trees in one session. When they feel tired, they get on the bus and go home. |
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| Fresh canarium fruits are imported by canarium picking groups to purchasing points in Thanh Lien and Thanh Tien communes at a price of about 50,000 VND/kg... Here, they select canarium fruits very carefully, eliminating all bad canarium fruits; if they are covered with mud, the price will be reduced. Canarium fruits should not be washed to preserve for a long time, because washing will make them ripen faster. |
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| The canarium season only lasts for 2 months, from mid-June to mid-August of the lunar calendar. Although the job of “canarium climbing” is hard and dangerous, the income is not less than several tens of millions of VND/season/group – a quite attractive figure for rural workers, but only a few people can do it. |
Huy Thu
