Digging on the beach in the middle of a cold winter

Despite the cold weather of winter, many people in the coastal areas of Nghe An province take advantage of holding racquets and hoes to the beach, where the tide has just receded to scratch clams to earn extra income.

Although it is not the season for clams, at this time, along the road close to Quynh Bang beach (Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province), groups of women stoop to scratch clams at low tide positions.

Digging on the beach in the cold winter - 1 — The people in Quynh Bang sea make a living on the beach (Photo: Nguyen Duy).

The equipment used to scratch clams is very simple, just a racket made by people from a piece of bamboo about 1.6-1.8m long; rake blade made of thin sharp steel attached to the bamboo-segment.

When raking clams, people have to bend over, hold the rope and bamboo stick firmly with both hands, forcefully press the scraper blade into the sand, about 10cm deep, and walk backward. When detecting clams, people will stop to use their hands to dig through the sand to pick them up.

Digging on the beach in the cold winter - 2 — Ms. Ho Thi Ngan, Chi Thanh hamlet, Quynh Bang commune said that this season the water is high, so clams are less (Photo: Nguyen Duy).

Many people also use hoe to dig each layer of sand to find clams. In this way, after more than an hour of diligent digging, people can pick up 1.5-2kg of clams.

According to local people, the clam season usually only lasts from March to July every year. At this time, the weather is cold, the clams are few, so the price also doubles.

Taking advantage of the leisurely days, at midday when the tide recedes, people invite each other to rake clams to both improve the family’s meals and sell for extra income.

Digging on the beach in the cold winter - 3 — Some people defied the cold, wading in the water to catch larger clams (Photo: Nguyen Duy).

“This season, clams are rare, but we also take advantage of our free time to go to the sea to scratch for a few hours to earn extra income. Going at noon, the tide recedes, and the weather is also warmer. If you scratch in the water, you can get more. Although the dog is big, it is very cold this season. Raking on the beach is not as productive, but it is warmer, safe, and healthy. On average, each person rakes about 3-4 kg, earning a few hundred thousand dongs,” she said. Ho Thi Ngan (52 years old), residing in Chi Thanh hamlet, Quynh Bang commune, Quynh Luu) shared.

Digging on the beach in the middle of a cold winter - 4 — Women with weak health should scratch clams right on the beach (Photo: Nguyen Duy).

According to reporters, in this season, small clams are sold for 30,000 VND, and large clams are sold for 50,000-70,000 VND/kg. On average, a person can earn 150,000-200,000 VND from raking clams every day.($1=25,000 VND)

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy (60 years old, residing in Quynh Bang commune) said that most of the local people live by growing vegetables. The recent rain has caused damage to vegetables and crop failure. Looking forward to the end of the income from the vegetable beds during the Tet holiday, they took advantage of earning extra income by raking clams.

Digging on the beach in the middle of a cold winter - 5 — People share with reporters about clam raking (Photo: Nguyen Duy).

“Take advantage of a few hours a day to come here to hoe, scratch, chat and earn a little more income. The clams are cleaned and sorted, the small ones bring home to cook soup, and the older ones sell as well. Earn more than 100,000 VND. If you work hard in the sand, you will surely have money to spend on Tet”, Ms. Thuy shared.