From early morning, crossing Ban Pass, many motorbikes are parked along the road, and the owners have walked into the forest to dig bamboo shoots. Previously, sặt trees and vầu trees mainly grew naturally, but in recent years, people have brought seedlings to plant in fields and production forests to proactively generate income.
Ms. Trieu Thi Tien, Suoi Bi village, Muong Coi commune, said that digging bamboo shoots or vầu bamboo shoots is not easy, because delicious bamboo shoots are often located deep underground, forest rangers must have experience to find them.
We often go barefoot to feel the ground near dust and dust. When we see soft or slightly protruding soil, we lightly dig around. Bamboo shoots that have not yet sprouted from the ground are crispy and sweet. People who are used to digging 50-100 kg of bamboo shoots every day can also sell them for several hundred to millions of VND," Ms. Tien said.
Not only exploiting natural bamboo shoots, many households in the commune have planted sặt, vầu, and bitter bamboo shoots on hillsides. These types of plants are easy to grow, require little care, after a few years they begin to produce bamboo shoots and can be harvested for a long time.
Mr. Phan Ngoc Linh, Chairman of Muong Coi Commune People's Committee, said that developing bamboo shoot cultivation is becoming an effective direction to increase income for local people.
Currently, the whole commune has over 600 hectares of bamboo plants such as sặt, vầu, and bitter bamboo shoots. Many areas were planted on fields and hills with poor efficiency in the past. Planting bamboo shoots both helps people have more income and contributes to retaining land and increasing forest cover," Mr. Linh informed.
At the same time, in the Du Lau, Suoi Leo, Pan Ech, Nghia Hung areas, the bamboo shoot harvesting atmosphere is also very bustling. From early morning, people in the villages have gone to the Vầu bamboo forest to dig bamboo shoots to sell to purchasing points.
Mr. Trieu Van Dom, from Du Lau village, said that his family has more than 3 hectares of bamboo and 1 hectare of bitter bamboo shoots. In the main season, he can dig more than a quintal of bamboo shoots every day.
Early-season bamboo shoots are priced high, selling from 15,000–20,000 VND/kg. Each year, the family harvests about 20 tons of fresh bamboo shoots, with a fairly stable additional income," Mr. Dom shared.
According to statistics, the output of bamboo shoots of all kinds in Muong Coi commune reaches nearly 3,000 tons per year. Along National Highway 32B, in the bamboo shoot season, many purchasing points appear, some points purchasing from 10–20 tons of fresh bamboo shoots per day.
Mr. Dinh Van Tien, owner of a bamboo shoot purchasing point in Du Lau village, said that in the peak season, his facility purchases 20–30 tons of fresh bamboo shoots from people in the area every day.
Bamboo shoots are purchased on the same day and then transported by truck to wholesale markets in Hanoi, Phu Tho, Hung Yen for consumption. Thanks to the local purchasing point, people do not have to go far, selling bamboo shoots is more convenient," Mr. Tien said.
In addition to selling bamboo shoots, vầu trees from 3-4 years old are also harvested sparsely by people to sell to construction sites for formwork or barns, with prices ranging from 20 to 30 thousand VND per tree.
When bamboo shoot season comes, all the slopes of Muong Coi hills are bustling with the footsteps of people digging bamboo shoots. Baskets full of bamboo shoots after each morning going to the forest are not only products of the mountains and forests but also a source of livelihood to help many highland families stabilize their lives and be attached to their homeland.
