Trading leaves for a living

27 December 2008

For over a century, the farmers from Denchukha Gewog in Samtse have braved the vagaries of nature and
traded betel leaves with Haa. Rabi C. Dahal reports.

For the people of Denchukha Gewog in Samtse, how well the betel leaves grow in the subtropical forest around them matters a lot. Betel leaves is their lifeline. For nearly 100 years, betel leaves had been a vital source of income for the people of the gewog. People from these villages have sold betel leaves and domestic products to the people of Haa and bought essential commodities like salt, oil, rice and other household items.

Thamba Subba, 42, has been in betel leaves business for the last 25 years. He said that it took him three days to reach Haa with a basket of betel leaves on his back.

Like Thamba, other people go to Haa carrying a basket of leaves (approximately 32,000 leaves in a basket) and earn about Nu 500 per trip. A set consists of 10 leaves in summer, and 17 leaves in winter.

The evergreen creeper with glossy heart-shaped leaves grows in abundance in Denchukha. People living near Samtse take the leaves to Samtse but others it them to Haa. “A lot of villagers are engaged in collecting the leaves,” said Birkha Gurung, a betel leaf seller from Denchukha. “The trade does not earn much but no one thinks of quiting the business.”

Business people describe the betel leaf collectors’ job as tedious and risky. They cross snow-clad passes in winter and roaring rivers in summer.

Then, there are risks of wild animal attacks. “Elders say that yeti lives in the snowpeaked mountains which we have to cross,” said Thamba Subba. But the business goes on.

“The maximum I earned was Nu 800 and the minimum, Nu 100 for a basket of betel leaves. I remember my grandfather going to Haa when I was a child. Later, I followed my father and now it is over 15 years that I have been in the business,” said 27-yearold Chandra Bahadur, adding that there was no alternative source of income for the villagers.

Bida, 52, from Jyenkhana in Haa said they got fresh and good leaves from Denchukha traders. “Leaves coming from Phuentsholing are wilted and smelly. The taste is also not as good as Denchukha betel leaves,” she said.

“During the rainy season, the forest is infested with mosquitoes, leeches and wild animals like bears but we have to take risk as we have to keep the chula (traditional stove) burning,” said Birkha. During summer, the villagers supplement their income by selling wild ferns.

For the people of Denchukha, essential goods are cheaper in Samtse, but for the people in the northern part of the gewog, Haa is still their choice as it takes six days to reach Samtse and had to cross the river 16 times.

“The gewog needs to be connected by a farm road,” traders said.

Denchukha has 373 households and it is the remotest gewog in Samtse.

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