Seaweed, old leaves yield good returns as fertiliser
Written by Writer on Friday, October 31st, 2008
Seaweed, old leaves yield good returns as fertiliser
JAKKRIT WAEWKRAIHONG
TRAT : Fallen mangrove leaves and decomposed seaweed are yielding handsome incomes for many people living in a beach community in Trat province.
Residents of Pakkhlong Bangkradan village in Trat scoop up seaweed and decomposed vegetation to be sold as fertiliser. They can make as much as 3,000 baht each a day during the rainy season. JAKKRIT WAEWKRAIHONG
They are each earning up to 3,000 baht a day during the rainy season.
At least 50 villagers, including children and elderly people, armed with baskets and dip-nets can be seen every day busily collecting fallen leaves and rotting seaweed floating on the surface of the sea at Pakkhlong Bangkradan village in tambon Bangpid, Laem Ngop district.
This decomposed plant matter, called khiyor locally, is black and odourless and is sold for use as a natural fertiliser.
Jamras Mantikawit, 47, is a fisherman but says he can earn an extra 2,000-3,000 baht a day by collecting khiyor, which is washed ashore at this time of year.
The amount which can be collected depends on the weather. If it rains heavily, the mangroves grow well and produce more leaves, and more seaweed is also washed up on the shore.
Traders come to the village to buy the fertiliser.
“When I take a break from fishing in the sea, I spend my time collecting khiyor, which can be harvested here for 3-4 months each year,” said Mr Jamras.
The plant fertiliser can be gathered easily only in Pakkhlong Bangkradan village and at the mouth of the Waelu river in Chanthaburi’s Khlung district.
Huadwong Paisarn, 50, of Laem Ngop district, said khiyor emerged as a popular alternative to chemical fertiliser only last year, when farmers began using it around their fruit and palm trees. Their trees produced a bumper crop and this year they have been buying more.
Mr Huadwong trades in khiyor. He buys it from the gatherers for 1-1.50 baht a kilogramme and sells it to planters in nearby districts.
It is cheaper than chemical fertiliser and increasingly popular with rubber and palm tree planters in other areas, he said.
Pongsak Archeewa, 47, a major khiyor trader in Trat’s Khao Saming district, said the natural fertiliser has generated more than 1.5 million baht for people in Laem Ngop district in the past 3-4 months. He has bought more than 50 tonnes of khiyor from residents and sold it at a profit.
Bangkok Post
Friday October 31, 2008
