Gorkha. Residents of Chumanubri Rural Municipality-7 Chekampar have started going to the lake to collect Yarsagumba. As soon as the season begins, the residents of Chekampar have stopped collecting Yarsagumba and started going to the lake on the side, informed local Tshiringphunjo Lama.
‘Some have already left, some are preparing to go,’ he said, ‘The weather is getting worse and it is causing sorrow.’ High-quality Yarsagumba is found in the lakes of Chumanubri-1 Samagaun and Ward No. 7 Chekampar. It is considered the main source of income for the residents of northern Gorkha. Yarsagumba is also found in the lakes of Ward No. 3 of Chumanubri and Ward No. 3 of Dharche Rural Municipality.
The residents of Chhekampar have started going to the lake to pick yarsagumba since the first week of Baisakh, says outgoing ward chairman Pasang Phunjo Lama. ‘The locals have gone, but there is still snow on the lake,’ he said, ‘The snow came late this year, even those who went to the lake must be clearing the snow.’
After Baisakh, those who go to the lake usually return only in Asar. The locals take yaks and camels with rations, water and clothes for about two to two and a half months. When the Yarsa season begins, most people close their doors and take their entire family, pets, and livestock to the lake.
‘They set up temporary camps on the lake, take their children to the lake, and even take their yaks and donkeys to the lake,’ says Lama Pasang. ‘Some people have elderly people who cannot walk at home, and they all go to the lake, hiring Rongba (people from the lower regions) to be their housekeepers.’
The main source of income for the residents here is the income from Yarsagumba. They earn between Rs. 200,000 and 400,000 by selling Yarsagumba. “Nowadays, we can hardly find insects in the lake. If we search all day, we can only find one or two,” says Tshiring Phunjo. “After a few years, we will probably stop finding even that.”
There is a provision that each household has to pay Rs. 500 to the local committee and Rs. 500 to the municipality for collecting Yarsagumba.
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