The people of Lingzhi Gewog in Thimphu district are unhappy with the yields of Cordyceps this year. They hardly get 1-2 pieces by low collectors and around 10 pieces by high collectors per day, this time.
People say they used to get a minimum of 30-40 pieces by low collectors and 200-300 pieces by high collectors per day, earlier. But this time, the yield proving to be extremely poor, some collectors are already headed home losing all hopes.
They also said that they did not see any illegal collectors this time but the weather remained sunny most of the time. A bright sunny day is not at all good for Cordyceps, according to them, as the land where cordyceps grow gets dried and affects the growth altogether.
The people of Lingzhi started collecting cordyceps from 11th of this month and will be continuing till 11th of the next month.
According to our sources, more than two hundred people from eighty households in Lingzhi are engaged in collecting cordyceps in the mountainous area of Chuphu, Thouphu, Chhogalum and Baga under Lingzhi Gewog.
They are now concerned about their income for this year. Since the cordyceps collection was legalized in 2004, it has become the main income source for the highlanders in the country.
