June 18th, 2015 |
BANEPA, Nepal – In what might sound surprising to many, farmers of Kavre district have installed CCTV cameras on Bodhichitta (a kind of small berry) trees to protect its valuable seeds.
Local farmers sell a garland of Bodhichitta for up to Rs 5,000. The same garland is then sold in Tibet for Rs 100,000 to Rs 150,000.
Farmers have come up with the idea of installing CCTV cameras on Bodhichitta trees after thieves started stealing the seeds. The four CCTV cameras that Sonam Singh Tamang, a farmer of Shikhar Ambote VDC-9, had installed on the trees helped him punish the thieves. A gang of thieves destroyed the cameras and stole the seeds from the trees.
Last year, Tamang had earned Rs 6 million by selling Bodhichitta seeds.
“Till last year, I had hired a contractor. This year, we decided to sell the seeds on our own,” he said. “But the thieves destroyed the CCTV cameras and stole more than half the seeds from the tree at midnight.” The thieves stole the seeds before they had matured. The seeds cannot be sold, according to the farmer. After the incident, Tamang’s family, including his wife and two sons, are staying in Dhulikhel fearing the thieves.
Kavre police have arrested two thieves and they are searching for other gang members.
Last year, Tamang had chartered a helicopter to airlift around 200 kg of Bodhichitta seeds.
Like Tamang, 34 farmers from nine VDCs and Panchkhal municipality in the district are engaged in Bodhichitta farming, as per the record maintained at the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO).
The high cost Bodhichitta seeds is attributed to its religious significance in the Lama and Tamang communities. The major market for the garland is Boudhha of Kathmandu. Price of the Bodhichitta garland, when transported to Kathmandu from Kavre village soars depending on its size and quality. It soars even further when it reaches Tibet. A single garland fetches Rs 100,000 to Rs 150,000.
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