Highland children brave the cold to go up the mountain to pick bamboo shoots to 'exchange' for Tet clothes
(Baonghean.vn) - These days the temperature in the highland districts is very low, but despite the cold, many mountain children take advantage of their time after school to climb mountains to break bamboo shoots and sell them to buy new clothes.
 |
| Children from Yen Na commune (Tuong Duong) recklessly climbed the mountainside to pick bamboo shoots. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| After school, the children often go in groups of 5-7, often following the hillsides on both sides of the road, and sometimes even going deep into the forest to pick bamboo shoots. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| Most of the children come from poor families and have no other source of income during Tet. To have new clothes, they have to face the risk of earning money. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| Crawling on a steep mountainside injures his foot. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| The bamboo often grows in quite precarious positions, so it poses many potential risks to children. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| The leaves are very sharp, and the children do not have any protective gear, so cutting their hands is a common occurrence. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| This boy said he picked bamboo shoots to sell and then gave them to his mother to buy pens and notebooks. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| Faced with the bone-chilling cold, many children had to light fires to keep warm on the spot. Photo: Dinh Tuan. |
 |
| Ms. Lam in Huoi Cut village, Yen Na commune (Tuong Duong), who specializes in collecting bamboo shoots, said that this year there is less bamboo shoots than in previous years, so collecting bamboo shoots is more difficult. Each child can only pick about 3-5kg/day. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
 |
| Currently, each kilogram of bamboo shoots is sold for 3,000 VND. Although the amount is small, it partly brings joy to the children when Tet comes. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
