Watch Nghe An village girls nimbly climb bamboo trees, no less than men.

Huy Thu• August 7, 2020 12:03

(Baonghean.vn) - The profession of picking canarium fruit is considered a potentially risky and dangerous one. However, there are some women who also follow this profession and climb canarium fruit trees as well as men.

These days, people in the mountainous districts of Nghe An are entering the autumn season of picking black canarium. From early morning, canarium pickers have been carrying their tools (nets, poles, bags, baskets) to start their work. Photo: Huy Thu

Currently, the canarium trees that produce a lot of fruit in the localities are mainly naturally grown and towering. Before picking the canarium, workers often spread nets around the base to catch the canarium. Photo: Huy Thu

The canarium tree has a tall trunk, a wide canopy, and brittle branches. Picking canarium is not simple and has many potential risks. When picking canarium, just a little carelessness can cause an accident. Therefore, before climbing the tree, canarium pickers equip themselves with belts, safety ropes, etc. quite fully. Photo: Huy Thu

Climbing the tree trunk is the first difficult task of the canarium picking profession. Some people cannot hold on to the tree trunk, so they have to attach a ladder, put a bamboo stick against the tree trunk for support, then climb up the bamboo stick. Photo: Huy Thu

In districts with many canariums such as Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Anh Son, Tan Ky... there are often people who trade in canariums, which are closely related to climbing and picking, and people who specialize in picking canariums for hire. Thanh Chuong district alone has dozens of people who trade in canariums and climb canariums. Many canarium picking groups have both husbands and wives who know how to climb trees. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hoa (54 years old) - a resident with more than 20 years of experience in climbing canariums in Thanh Linh commune (Thanh Chuong) said: "Every canarium season, my family usually buys about 100 canarium trees to pick fruit. When the canarium season comes, it seems like we have to climb trees every day, except on rainy days." Photo: Huy Thu

. Climbing canarium trees requires good health, strong nerves, courage, and no fear of heights. Most people who climb canarium trees are men, but there are still a few "special" women who can climb trees and pick canarium trees as well as men. In the photo: A woman in Thanh Linh commune (Thanh Chuong) is picking canarium trees on a tall tree. Photo: Huy Thu

People pick canarium fruits in the net after people on the trees pick them. Photo: Huy Thu

According to those who climb the trees, this year the trees have bloomed and borne fruit in abundance, but due to the storm, when the trees ripen, some trees have very few fruits. In addition, the recent prolonged drought has also affected the quality of the fruit. Professional tree pickers usually only go picking in the morning, and rest in the afternoon to regain strength. In each picking session, a skilled person can pick about 100-1500 kg of fruit. Photo: Huy Thu

The fatty and rich canarium fruit is not only a delicious dish, but also a "super clean" forest garden fruit, so it is loved by many people. The price of canarium fruit on the market ranges from 80,000 to 120,000 VND/kg. Currently, canarium is a specialty tree with high economic value. Each year, a mature canarium tree earns from several million to tens of millions of VND from selling fruit. The profession of climbing canarium trees has also "become famous" thanks to that, although it is hard and dangerous, but in return the income is quite good. Each canarium season, a canarium trader who also picks canarium trees also earns several tens of millions of VND. Photo: Huy Thu