Crop: People of Nimshong village in Korphu, Trongsa have started growing cardamom having understood its commercial value of the crop. Only villagers of Nabji and Korphu used to grow cardamom previously.

Leki Phuntsho, 29, planted cardamom seedlings on one and half acres of land this year. He got the seedlings from his father who initially brought them from Nabji and Korphu.

Ugyenmo, 42, from Nimshong, has cardamom on about two langdos of land. Her first harvest last year fetched her Nu 45,000. She said landslide destroyed some of her crops.

Chimi, 26, planted 3,000 seedlings last year. He will only be able to harvest the crop next year. Chimi said he used to go out for labour works in the past years. “That was only the source of cash income besides orange,” he said. Oranges failed in the village.

Those who harvested the crop are waiting for better price. Samten Yeshi, 26, harvested 16kg cardamom for the first time this year.

“People have sold cardamom for Nu 1,200 per kg last year and the price in the market at the moment is Nu 800 per kg,” he said. Samten Yeshi started planting cardamom on a 15-decimal land.

Samten Yeshi said that the people are willing to plant more cardamom in the village but it requires fertile grounds for better production. “Our land is not favourable for the cardamom plantation. It would be much profitable if we could plant them on government lands on lease,” he said.

Sangay, 34, said that there are some places where the crop grows well. In others it does not.

“There are some government lands in the village on which cardamom grows well,” he said.

Nima Wangdi | Nimshong