Yarsagumba collectors say buy now, pay later

Collectors of the prized Himalayan herb yarsagumba have sold their harvests to traders without setting the price after a three-month-long stalemate.
Locals of Bajhang district, for whom gathering herbs is a major source of livelihood, have not received payment from the traders even though a month has passed.
The caterpillar-fungus cannot be preserved for long periods, and this made collectors anxious to unload their stocks even without agreeing on a price. The expensive herb is also a target for thieves. 
“We collect the fungus in May, and it is difficult to preserve it beyond September,” said Ghuran Bohara, a local of Kanda, Bajhang. “If yarsagumba gets damaged, we get a very low price for it. Therefore, we sold the fungus to traders without fixing the price.”  
The high value of the fungus has also made it dangerous to keep in the house. “We can’t store things of such high value for a long time, and we had no option but to trust the traders,” said Bohara. “We might get a lower price for selling the fungus without fixing the price, but it is better than getting nothing due to theft or damage.”
Traders said that they had not yet found buyers among Chinese traders, their main clients, and so could not pay their suppliers, said Bohara who sold 1.5 kg of yarsagumba to a local trader. 
Traders of Bajhang ship the fungus to Kathmandu to sell to Chinese buyers of medicinal herbs. “As the Chinese buyers are yet to fix the price of the fungus, we have not paid the collectors,” said Dan Bahadur Surmeli, a local businessman. 
“We pay the collectors whatever money we get from the Chinese traders after taking our cut. This is how we have been doing business from the past.” 
Located in far west Nepal, Bajhang is one of the poorest districts in the country and occupies the bottom rung of the human development index, meaning income levels are low, and many people are not educated and do not have access to quality healthcare services. As a result, it is customary for entire families to leave their homes during the yarsagumba picking season and spend weeks in the highlands where the herbs grow. The money they make by selling their yarsagumba harvest puts food on the table throughout the year.
Yarsagumba is the world’s most expensive medicinal fungus, and is used to cure anemia, chest and lung infections, tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and kidney and liver diseases. It can fetch as much as $100 per gram on the Chinese market, making it more expensive than gold, according to reports. 
This is the reason why hordes of collectors rush to the hills during the yarsagumba collection season. There are examples of pickers earning enough to purchase real estate in the district headquarters and the relatively more prosperous southern plains. 
Many have also stopped going to India as seasonal migrants to do menial jobs.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seven benefits of Yarsagumba

Image
Caterpillar fungus, which is known as Himalayan Viagra, is an herb that grows in the pastures between 3,300 meters and 4000 meters in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India and Tibet. Known locally as the yarsagumba, this small herb  is an exceptional combination of a yellow caterpillar and a mushroom (fungus).  As temperature increases and the snow melts, yarsagumba emerges. During the rains, the herb is often swept away. Caterpillar fungus goes under the scientific name of Cordyceps Sinensis. Just prior to the rainy season, spores of cordyceps fungus infect Himalayan caterpillars that live on moist grass and hollow soil. Once buried inside the caterpillar’s body, the fungus works its way out through the insect’s head. The parasite gets the energy from the caterpillar and leaves it to die. The caterpillar fungus is a slim, brownish yellow, 2cm long plant that protrudes stem-like and sticks out of the earth. Depending on the size and quality, the caterpi...
Read more

What is Cordyceps Sinensis / Yarsagumba?

Image
Yarsagumba (Cordyceps) is one of the most unique, rare, and treasured plants used in herbal medicine. In its natural form, Cordyceps can be found only at elevations above 3500 meters in isolated areas of northern Dolpa, Nepal. This herb is actually a type of fungus which grows on the backs of caterpillars indigenous to Nepal, China and Tibet. Due to its rarity, Cordyceps harvested in the wild is very expensive. Wild cordyceps from Nepal is supposed to be the best in the world. Scientific research has proven that wild cordyceps is richer in certain components, and also that the proportions of its ingredients are different from the cultivated herb, and this might make some differences in the activity. However, the laboratory versions of Cordyceps has become an alternative for people who cannot afford Natural Cordyceps .
Read more

What is Yarsagumba? Its Uses, Importance, Per kg Price and Benefits

What is Yarsagumba? Yarsagumba is a unique fungus which grows on caterpillar. It is found in the high altitude areas of the Himalayas.  It is a parasitic relation of a fungus which grows on the larvae stage of many species of moth caterpillar .  Yarsagumba takes the nutrients for its own growth from caterpillar. The caterpillar becomes devoid of  its nutrients and in the process the caterpillar dies. T his is the reason that Yarsagumba is also called half caterpillar half fungus. In scientific terms it is known as  Ophiocordyceps sinensis .  Its unique life-cycle brought it names Yarchagumba, Yatsa gunbu, Yartsa gunba, Yatsagumbu and keeda jadi. In Tibet ‘Yatsa gunbu’  means ‘ Summer grass winter worm ‘.   The caterpillar fungus  is also called Himalayan Viagra. Where is Yarsagumba found? Yarsagumba is found in high altitude Himalayas of India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan.  HowYarsagumba or Keeda Jadi G...
Read more