VietNamNet Bridge – In the rainy season between the fifth and ninth months of the lunar calendar in the west of Quang Nam Province, Co Tu people often come to forests in Truong Son Mountain Range to collect bamboo shoots.

Co Tu women cut bamboo shoots

Early in the morning, Co Tu women go into the forest to pick bamboo shoots and put them in the bag they carry on the back. The top of a bamboo shoot is put on the root of another shoot, so no matter how high it is in the bag, it is not easy to collapse even when Co Tu women walk on rough roads.

After bringing the fresh bamboo shoots home, they clean them and remove the roots to keep the young buds before boiling those buds and dry them for sale.

A Co Tu woman carries a bag of bamboo shoots

Zoram Thi Cho, a Co Tu woman in Ta Lau village, Ba Commune, Dong Giang District, said she sells 30 kilos of processed bamboo shoots on average and earns around VND100,000 (US$4.45) in profit a day. Thanks to the bamboo shoot picking season, local people have one more source of income to cover their daily expenses.

But picking bamboo shoots is not an easy job. Early in the morning, Co Tu women have to carry with them food and sickles for cutting bamboo shoots. They have to walk on rocks, bamboo spikes and deal with forest insects.

A Lang Thi Nha in Ba Commune says accidents are not uncommon in the process of collecting bamboo shoots in the forest, so they need to be very careful.

Not only adults but also children collect bamboo shoots. Seventh grader A Lang Thi Hoa in P’rao Town in Dong Giang District says: “I have to go to market to sell bamboo shoots every morning because my mother has to go into the forest for picking them. I earn VND40,000-50,000 every morning.”

A Co Tu woman pours boiled bamboo shoots onto the ground – Photos: Tien Sa

Bamboo shoots grow naturally in the woods, thus becoming a favorite food of many people. They can be sautéed with pork, duck, chicken or seafood; steamed as a side dish; or pickled for later use.

However, Alang Avel, 85, a village patriarch in Ta Lang Village, Bhalee Commune, Tay Giang District, said bamboo shoots have become gradually rare in the past few years due to an overexploitation by local people.

In previous years, Co Tu people in Quang Nam provided hundreds of tons of bamboo shoots for Danang and nearby areas.