"Go" bamboo shoots

(Baonghean) -Now the bamboo shoot season has gradually ended. Many people have moved to find other jobs. But the hard-working locals, regardless of the bitter cold, still gather in groups to go deep into the forest to pick bamboo shoots.

The villagers go out to pick bamboo shoots, just like the people in the lowlands go out to “pick” firewood or “pick” grass. After a long period of cold weather, they cannot go to the forest, their hands and feet are itchy. Today the weather is less sunny, Mr. Loc Van Hanh walks around Xat village (Chau Khe commune – Con Cuong) looking for people to pick bamboo shoots. A few months ago, he did not have to work so hard because his grandchildren were at home. In the evening, he sent his daughter Hoi to call them and they gathered at his house to discuss a “shooting” trip.

On sunny days, the rocky banks along the stream are chosen by locals as a "yard" to dry bamboo shoots. Photo: Ho Phuong

Bamboo shoot picking usually takes 10 days or 1 week. Usually, the villagers form groups of five or seven families, each family consists of the parents and the eldest child... First, they have to agree on which forest to go to, then divide the work and prepare carefully: pots and pans, rice, fish sauce, stomach ache medicine, cold medicine, tools to collect bamboo shoots... then everyone goes home, prepares sticky rice for breakfast and makes meals for the first day of going to the forest.

Before the rooster crowed to signal the morning, Hoi’s mother and daughter were already busy lighting a fire and busily putting sticky rice in the pots so that the father and daughter could follow the group to “go” to collect bamboo shoots. As soon as dawn broke, the canopy of the big tree at the beginning of the village was just starting to shed dew, and everyone had gathered at the foot of the floor. Mr. Loc Van Hanh urged everyone to wrap their feet and hands in socks to protect them from the cold and to avoid being bitten by leeches. This time, there were no young people in the group, only a few middle-aged couples and only 16-year-old Loc Thi Hoi, assigned by her father to carry a small basket with a large aluminum pot used to boil bamboo shoots; the rest of the group carried heavy loads of food and tools that had been put into large bags...

It was late in the season, the bamboo forests with bamboo shoots were now far away, deep in the forest, and people who went to pick bamboo shoots often had to walk for a day to get there. The forest Mr. Loc's group was aiming for was Pu Can, in the Pu Mat buffer zone. They had to walk very quickly, and arrive before it was completely dark, then they had to cut bamboo, brush, and build a shelter to spend the night. The place to build the shelter was chosen to be a stream with favorable water flow so that after picking the bamboo shoots, they could boil and dry them. While everyone was setting up the shelter and cooking rice, the group leader had to take the opportunity to survey which direction of the forest had the most bamboo shoots; the deeper they went, the better and tastier the bamboo shoots were.

To get bamboo shoots, choose bamboo shoots that are taller than a person's body. The shorter the bamboo shoots are, the thicker and tastier the bamboo shoots are. After cutting the bamboo shoots, the person taking them uses a knife to peel the skin on the spot and puts them in a basket. When the basket is full, they are brought back to the shack so that someone can put them in a pot to boil. After boiling, the bamboo shoots are broken, pressed to remove all the water, then put in a bag waiting for the buyer to come. When entering, they inform the person at home of the route and destination, then mark the path as they go; the bamboo shoot traders follow the instructions. When they have collected a fair amount of bamboo shoots, the traders will come in to buy them. Sometimes, because they discover a lot of good bamboo shoots further inside, the whole group moves in, then after a few days, they will send someone to carry the bamboo shoots to the place where the traders stay to sell. When they go further, when it is sunny, they will press and dry them, and when the bamboo shoots are harvested, they will carry them back...

Bamboo shoots are suitable for processing with many foods, so they are easy to sell. Bamboo shoot picking has helped many families escape poverty, and sometimes become well-off. In Chau Khe, besides Xat village, Diem village, Bung village... are also bustling with bamboo shoot picking. "Going" to pick bamboo shoots at the end of this year is considered a chance to make extra money to prepare for Tet. Luckily, the radio reported a sunny spell, so we can go deeper to pick bamboo shoots and dry them. When the season is over, we can put them in bags and sell them for a higher price, "consider it like the Pig has a new shirt to wear for Tet" - Mr. Loc Van Hanh happily said.

Mr. Vu