Northern farmers have found a way to earn some extra cash on the side while they wait for their rice to grow — they collect crickets!
Crickets have turned into a great source of extra income for those working in the fields in the Northern province of Phayao, they can collect as much as THB300 – THB400 a day when they sell the live insects that they collect from the crops.
Edible crickets, called jing reed in Thai, are a much-loved snack that are, apparently, delicious as well as high in protein. The biggest crickets can be sold live to food vendors for THB2 each. In turn, those vendors can sell the cooked crickets to customers for as much as THB6 each.
If a fieldworker wants to make even more money, he can remove the cricket entrails and sell the dead, prepped crickets to vendors for as much as THB4 each, reported Bangkok Post.
One cricket collector who lives in Phu Kham Yao district, Chukiart Techaboon, said that October and November are prime cricket-collecting season. He explained that the crickets are found in holes in the field’s ground and collectors need to dig them out with their fingers.
He said that, “I usually dig for crickets from morning to afternoon. I can collect 200 crickets a day and earn THB300 – THB400. When I return home there are people already waiting to buy this tasty insect.”
Yum!
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