Disillusioned with agarwood billionaire with Do Bau tree

People in the mountainous areas of Quang Ngai province raise a dream to get rich from growing agarwood trees to create agarwood, but many years have passed, these trees are just ordinary trees, not bringing the expected value.
In mid-April, we went to Tra Bong highland, Quang Ngai province, which was once considered the “capital” of this province, had to ask many indigenous people, we found a few households. People still keep the do tree. A part of the poles was cut down when it was not economically viable or collapsed due to storms.

Mr. Linh shared about Do Bau tree. Mr. Ho Tan Linh (resident in Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district) is known as a “veteran” in growing do Bau. Mr. Linh’s garden currently has about a hundred trees that are over 20 years old. Mr. Linh said: 20 years ago, he went all over the mountains and forests of Tra Bong to look for gourds. At that time, all had to walk, climb passes and wade streams, sacred forests and poisonous water could not stop his footsteps in order to earn money in the hope of changing his life. Then Mr. Linh also planted a few hundred trees. Care, medicine, how much effort he put into the trees. As the years went by, the hope kept dwindling when there was no tree that gave off the desired fragrance. Many trees planted in Tra Son commune have their roots cut down. “Three years ago, a trader asked to buy a tree for 1 million to pump chemicals to create oil, but I shook my head and refused. The money has already been spent, so keep it. I hired a mechanic to drill holes in the body of the gourd. If this hole is ant it gets in, it will create oil. However, up to now, these trees have not been able to produce agarwood, “Mr. Linh said. While many people still dream of changing their lives from agarwood, Mr. Ho Van Chan (residing in Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune) has lost all hope. Pointing to the planting ground that has been razed and leveled, there are only a few roots left, Mr. Chan said that he only sells trees here, but has never seen agarwood. “I can’t see the bass until the wind blows, so the tree falls down. So I cut it down, and the garden that I planted has just rented a flatbed car,” he shared. Mr. Linh shared some cores of Do Bau tree. According to Mr. Dinh Van Phong, Chairman of Tra Son Commune People’s Committee, the Do Bau tree whose special products are agarwood and sage has a very long history. Many people think that when they grow up to 7-8 years old, they can drill and then give acid or biological products and wait a few years to create agarwood, they will become a billionaire. A few decades ago, the movement of growing dó bau strongly developed and spread throughout the mountainous communes. The tree grows well but does not produce bass. Many Do Bau orchards were toppled by storms at the end of 2020. “In Tra Son, all hamlets grow do bau, but so far no one has made agarwood from do bau, people cut it down to switch to growing acacia. A few are sold cheaply to businesses,” said Mr. Phong.