About the place where people flock to the forest to pick leaves that are 'as precious as gold' in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - While in other places, pine needles are considered waste, in Nghi Loc district (Nghe An), at this time, many people have to wake up very early to go into the forest to "hunt" for pine needles because if they are not quick, they will easily return empty-handed...
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| These days, in the forests of Nghi Lam, Nghi My, Nghi Kieu communes... of Nghi Loc district, pine leaves have begun to fall heavily, covering the ground. However, the special thing is that all the fallen leaves have been collected by the people. Photo: Quang An |
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| At this time, every day people go into the forest to rake pine needles to cover the chives - a plant whose planting season starts in July every year. To avoid the sun and rake a lot of pine needles, many households go from 4 to 5 am. Photo: Quang An |
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| Ms. Nguyen Thi Lam and her husband, in Hamlet 12, Nghi Lam Commune, as well as many other families, went into the forest to collect pine needles at 5 a.m. Ms. Lam shared: We have been doing this for many years now. Pine needles are clean and have high porosity, which significantly increases the productivity of crops, especially chives - the plant that brings the highest economic efficiency in the commune today. Photo: Quang An |
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| Although there are many dry pine needles, only those who go early can get a lot, those who go later have to travel quite a long way to get them. Families who cannot afford to go to the forest to get pine needles have to buy them for 1.5 million VND/car. Therefore, everyone, every household, flocks to the forest to "hunt" for pine needles. Photo: Quang An |
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| After collecting pine needles, people transport them to the fields and pile them up so that they can cover them after sowing the shallots. Photo: Quang An |
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| Mr. Nguyen Sy Hoi in Nghi Lam commune said: My children all work far away, even though I am old, every time it is time for shallots to be harvested, I still have to go into the forest to rake pine needles, then hire a car to transport them back, costing from 200,000 - 300,000 VND/trip. Photo: Quang An |
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| Nghi Lam commune has over 80 hectares of shallots. To plant 1 hectare, it takes 20 trucks of pine needles, which means it costs about 20 million VND (1 million VND per truck). In other words, if people buy pine needles for 80 hectares of shallots, the cost could be from 800 million to 1 billion VND. This is an invaluable resource that many places have left fallow. Photo: Quang An |
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| Mr. Nguyen Xuan Quang - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghi Loc district said: The whole district has about 4,500 hectares of pine, although the pine forest area is quite large, but in areas specializing in growing chives such as Nghi Lam, Nghi Kieu... it is still not enough to serve the people growing chives. Using pine needles to cover chives brings very positive effects, helping chives increase productivity, while significantly reducing the risk of forest fires, which is currently hot. Photo: Quang An |