Asian Geographic - April 2018

(singke) #1
DATA SOURCES: BHUTAN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING AND
COOPERATIVES, DRAGON HERBS BHUTAN, SANGAY WANGCHUK, THE THIRD POLE,
RA ONLINE, KUENSEL ONLINE

above Cordyceps is
valued in Asia for its
medicinal properties
and is sometimes taken
as an aphrodisiac

left Inside a
traditional Layap
kitchen

Cordyceps is graded by a combination of
colour, size and weight. The thicker the
fungus, the higher the price

Sprouting Demand


Average auction prices for cordyceps
(per kg) in Bhutan

24,000


USD


YEAR


8,000


16,000


22,000


6,000


14,000


20,000


4,000


12,000


18,000


2,000


200720092011201320152017


10,000


USD42,204
The highest bid for
cordyceps (per kg) in
Bhutan in 2017

VS USD155


A typical yak
herder’s yearly
income

The increase in cordyceps’ value
between 1997 and 2008

900%


To reach cordyceps grounds, a Layap must


hike slippery paths, cross rivers and wend


through forest, eating and sleeping under tarp


between a rock and a tree branch amid torrid


weather. But with all that mountainous yak-


rearing, perhaps no people are better equipped


to gather this fungus, whose sales have since


made them the richest community in the


country. Chinese, American and Japanese


buyers clamour for the “Himalayan Viagra” to


make tonics, while it is to locals a medicine


and household remedy.


But not all Layap have been swept up in


the cordyceps craze. Some, like Wangmo, still


herd: Each yak in her flock of 49 has a name,


and her son sells their butter and cheese at


Punakha, the closest big city.


“I’m absolutely uninterested in that


expensive caterpillar,” says the middle-aged


Layap, who is wearing a flowery blouse


and black skirt made from yak wool. “I like


constantly moving from one pasture to


another. I can’t imagine life without my yaks.”


Perhaps Wangmo is onto something.


Experts – and the Bhutan government – have


observed that the quantity and quality


of cordyceps in the Himalayas has been


decreasing with each passing year. Global


warming threatens the longevity of this


fungus, throwing into question how long the


Layap’s new tradition can stick around for. ag

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