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.

Mr. Ho Van Don (Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district, Quang Ngai province) has more than 20 years “dreaming” of a billionaire agarwood. When he was not in his 40s, Mr. Don roamed all over the mountains and forests of Tra Bong, climbed to the top of Ca Dam to “hunt” for gourds. “At that time, we all walked, but still climbed the pass, waded the stream, and searched the forest and high mountains at night to find gourds. Each ride takes about 3.4 days. The sacred forest, poisonous water or the serpent do not count, as long as the natural gourd can be planted. If this plant produces bass, it will become a billionaire ”, he recalls. Then Mr. Don also planted about a hundred gourd trees. Careful, medicinal, so much effort he focused on those trees with the wish to change his life soon. As the years passed, hope gradually faded when there was no tree radiating the desired scent. Mr. Don walked out into the front garden, fiddled with the roots that emerged on the ground of a big tree, thoughtfully: “Last year, people came to buy 42 trees for 42 million VND but did not sell. These trees are over 20 years old. They buy it to pump medicine into the oil plants, from which the oil becomes frankincense. They buy at low prices, successfully pump oil, and sell at a hundred times higher price. I think it doesn’t make much money to sell the tree, and then we spend it all so we just leave it behind, who knows? Then last year’s big storm, most of the trees fell, now only a few left “. When the movement of planting gourd trees emerged, Mr. Don thought it would be harvested only a decade or so. Now over the age of 60, he is disappointed because he has not seen the depression yet, but selling well-grown trees to traders is regretful. “Out of these trees, only one tree can create oil, and we will have a big profit, at least a few hundred million, many billions. Now that he is old and weak, his life will not be enjoyed, so leave it there, and his children and grandchildren will enjoy it later, ”said Don. Poke holes, pour honey Mr. Ho Van Linh (Bac 2 hamlet, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district) is known as a “veteran” in gourd plantations. Mr. Linh brought out a large plastic wrap, in which there were pieces of wood chips of many sizes. Choosing a small piece, he lit a fire and said: “This is the stem of the gourd tree that has just produced oil from the drilling of the hole, it is young so it is soft and easy to rot, the aroma is also mild. But nonetheless there is hope… ”. Mr. Linh’s garden now has about hundred gourd trees over 20 years old. In 1999, he also planted this many trees, but most of them were hit by storms, and had to lose weight. “Planting this seed is planting the hope of a life-changing. Back then, the towel went to another province to work as a hired laborer in the place where the plant is growing, and the son got sick so he had to go home … If we worked for a long time, maybe we would know more good tips “, Mr. Linh said. Three years ago, the trader came to ask to buy plants to pump chemicals to create oil, but he shook his head to refuse. Not willing to sell much effort, hoping for decades with a cheap price of 1 million VND per tree, Mr. Linh hired a worker to drill holes in the body of the gourd. “This hole, when it comes in, will create oil. Ordinary honey does not dare to drink because of regret of money, but bought it and poured it in these holes to lure, but did not see it, ”he smiled sadly. After saying that, Mr. Linh stumbled towards the end of the garden, pointed at the tree which was quite large, about one person hugged and said: “See these holes, it is natural, not drilling. It is the most hopeful tree in this garden. Mr. Ho Tan Linh put a lot of hope in the gourd tree with holes formed naturally on the body Unfinished dream More than 20 years ago, the story of the woodworkers suddenly became billionaires because they found the bass that spread everywhere, fascinated many men in the forest looking for bass in the hope of changing their lives. When the source of frankincense, the male period … naturally in the forest has been exhausted, many people find ways to create it by injecting acids, probiotics into self-grown gourd trees. Seed companies that saw the opportunities in people’s dreams of life changing also burst into action. The movement to grow gourd just spread further. More than 2 decades have passed, the dream is still unfinished. People who still have hope, who was depressed and surrendered. 15 years ago, Mr. Ho Thanh On (Dong hamlet, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district) just over the age of 30 determined to change his life and bet on a big “gamble”. A relative who worked as a worker at the gourd hatchery in Binh Phuoc told him about the “secret” to become a billionaire. So he bought the seedlings of 5,000 gourd plants, sold them to his neighbors 4,000 trees, and kept 1,000 trees in his own garden and field. “With that many trees, 10 years after selling each tree 10 million, it will get 10 billion”, this man calculated. However, after planting a few years, the trees will die massively, and the trees live languishly waiting for buyers. Three years ago, he sold 116 trees for 55 million VND to traders in Da Nang. They drilled holes for the drug to be transplanted, but now it is not able to create incense. The billionaire’s dream fades over the years, Mr. On still lives in the old house in the middle of the garden. Storm No. 9 last year caused many trees to fall onto the roof, causing damage, but he has not bothered to fix it for the past four months. And Mr. Ho Van Chan (Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune) has also dissipated hope of changing his life thanks to incense. “There are only trees selling here, but never creating agarwood. I do not see the depression forever, the wind storm added, so the trees fell down. So I cut it off, the garden planted there, just rented a flat car ”, he shared. Many gourd trees fell down and were damaged by heavy storms Meanwhile, his hope has not yet been relieved, Mr. Ho Tan Linh (village Bac 2, commune Tra Son) firmly: “In this land, people always say: first ivory, second incense. There is still hope there, I have waited for more than half of my life, then there is nothing more … “. When the dream has not come true, every day Mr. Linh and his wife still have the burden of living. In addition to the shifting fields, he dug a pond to raise fish and planted many other plants in his garden. Life is miserable, but he never intended to “sell young rice” his hope. According to Mr. Dinh Van Phong – Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tra Son commune, a few decades ago, the movement of growing gourd was strongly developed and spread throughout the mountainous communes. “In Tra Son, all the villages are growing gourd plants, but after a while seeing ineffectiveness, many people cut them down to switch to acacia plantations. A few sell cheaply to businesses ”, Mr. Phong said. Decades have passed, unintentionally cruel time. The handsome brother is now handcuffed with silver hair, his dream has not yet come true. Some people are still chasing, someone got bored? But the story of frankincense in the highlands of Quang Ngai is not over yet.

The gourd garden of Mr. Ho Tan Linh. Dream several decades Mr. Ho Tan Linh (Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district) is known as a “veteran” in gourd plantations. Mr. Linh brought out a large plastic wrap, in which there were wooden pieces of many sizes. Selecting a small piece of wood, he lit a fire and said: “This is the stem of the gourd tree that has just produced oil, it is still” young “so it is soft and easy to rot, the smell is also mild. I tried hard to check, someone asked to buy but not to sell. Pieces of gourd wood with a slight fragrance were carefully stored by Mr. Linh. Mr. Linh’s garden has about hundred gourd trees over 20 years old. Almost all storms collapsed in 1999, causing it. A few years ago, a trader also asked to buy for 1 million VND / tree to pump chemicals to create oil, but he did not agree. “Planting this seed is planting the hope of a life change, selling them as much as possible, and then spending it all. If we leave it there, we still hope, if we only need 1 tree to create oil, we can get hundreds of millions of VND, many billions of dollars, ”he said. The holes drilled in the trunk of the gourd in Mr. Linh’s garden. Waiting forever without seeing the tree creating oil, giving off the scent, he hired himself to drill holes in the tree to lure the ants into the nest. “The same ant to live in, the tree will secrete oil, the depression is formed from there,” he shared. Like Mr. Linh, Mr. Ho Van Don (Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune) embraced the dream of a billionaire agarwood for more than 2 decades. When he was only twenty years old, Mr. Don roamed all over the mountains and forests of Tra Bong, climbed to the top of Ca Dam to “hunt” for gourds to plant in his garden. Mr. Ho Van Don has embraced the dream of a billionaire for over 20 years. “At that time, we all walked, but crossed the pass, crossed the stream, and searched the forest day and night to find natural gourds to plant. Each phase takes about 3 or 4 days, the lucky one can earn a few dozen trees, the few will only take a few trees. I can’t remember how many times I went to get about 100 trees in the garden ”, Mr. Don recalls. More than 20 years have passed, Mr. Don’s dream has yet to come true. In the garden, the amount of trees was gradually lost, part died from disease, partly due to wind storms. The sober, the one still dreaming Several decades ago, starting from the story of the forest goers changing their lives by winning incense, the gourd planting movement spread throughout the mountainous communes of Quang Ngai. Particularly in Tra Son commune, all the villages are growing gourd plants. Almost every house has planted, a few tens or even thousands of trees. But after a period of inefficiency, many people cut it down to switch to acacia, others still have hope. The movement of growing gourd had spread everywhere in Tra Son. Mr. Ho Thanh On (Dong hamlet, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district) has been charming and pregnant since he was 30 years old. Deciding to play a “big gamble”, he bought the seedlings of 5,000 gourd trees, kept 1,000 trees for planting, and the rest sold them to neighbors. He calculated that with only about that many trees, 10 million after selling each tree, it would get 10 billion VND. However, after planting a few years, the trees will die massively, and the trees are dying and waiting for buyers. Three years ago, he sold 116 trees at the price of 55 million dong to a trader. They drilled holes for the drug to be transplanted, but now it is not able to create incense. Many trees have fallen due to a heavy storm. Storm No. 9 last year caused many trees to fall onto the roof, causing damage, but Mr. On has not bothered to fix it for months. As for Mr. Ho Van Chan (Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune), hoping to change his life through incense, he hired someone to flatten the garden to plant gourd plants. “There are only trees selling here, but never creating agarwood. I did not see the depression forever, the wind stormed again, so the trees fell all over, stopped cutting them down to plant acacia ”, he said. A gourd planting area has flattened. Meanwhile, after more than 20 years of waiting, Mr. Ho Tan Linh is still pursuing the dream of changing his life. “In this country, people always say: First ivory, second incense. If the tree is still there, I hope it remains. If we can’t eat it, our children will enjoy… ”Mr. Linh was sure. Mr. Ho Van Tien – Chairman of Tra Son Commune Farmers Association mused: “The fever of growing gourd has cooled down gradually over the years. Currently, people are still nurturing and cultivating, some people are cut off. Like me, I also cut down dozens of gourd trees because I don’t feel like I have to wait forever ”. According to the gourd growers, the process of creating frankincense from the gourd plant is the reaction of wood particles to external influences such as cracks, pathogenic fungi, … When an area is If it is damaged, the plant secretes its own resin as a way to dress the wound. The harmonious combination of resin oil and wood of the gourd tree has created frankincense. In nature, not all plants produce agarwood. Agarwood is usually found in trees from 10 years on. Agarwood has very high economic value and is classified into many types, of which type 1 usually ranges from a few hundred million to several billion dong.