July is the time for the honey hunters of Phú Yên Province’s forests. The honey season, which starts in February, is centered in Xuân Phước forest, located in Đồng Xuân District (Phú Yên).
According to the hunters, who were interviewed by Zing, the fastest way to find the honeycomb goldmine is to track the bees when they fly back to their nest after drinking water at a stream. After identifying the nest, the honey seekers smoke out the bees and remove the honey. The honeycombs are then collected and drained before being sold in bottles on the side of the road.
The natural honey is sold at VND1 million per liter and to prove its authenticity, people usually show their honeycombs. According to these bee-seekers, their daily income is unstable, ranging from several million VND to nothing for 5 to 10 days.
Even though they risk bee stings, the threat of falling and even forest fires, a group of fake honey sellers are giving the legitimate ones a bad name, threatening their livelihoods.
[Zing]
