The caterpillar fungus, which is also known as the Himalayan Viagra, is found in the Makalu Barun National Park (MBNP) and the base of Mount Makalu at the altitude of 3,000 meter above the sea level.
Sedhuwa, Hatiya, Bung, and Yanlekharaka area of Kepm, Aasamasha, Thingjum, Khongma, Sankhuwashir and Khumading are places where the famous herbal aphrodisiac is found. Yubaraj Jimi, one of the Yarcha pickers, who had been Sankhuwashir to collect Yarchagumba, said the herb has diminished substantively over the years. [break]
According to Jimi, four hundred Yarchagumba pickers had gone to Sankhuwashir to collect the herb. But they could collect only 400 grams of Yarchagumba each on an average. Last year, they had collected 1.5 kilogram of Yarchagumba each on an average.
“The number of Yarcha pickers has also gone down considerably,” said Binod Limbu, another Yarcha picker. “The amount of Yarcha collected did not even meet travelling expenses,” Limbu added. He also said that he would not go to collect Yarchagumaba next year.
According to locals, Yarchagumba availability has declined as people haphazardly used hoe and other digging tools to collect the herb. Ideally, Yarchagumba should be picked by using hands. But Yarcha pickers tend to dig deep to pick even immature herbs.
People tend to pick Yarchagumba found below the soil as they weigh more and look attractive. The decline in Yarchagumba availability has also affected revenue collection. Earlier, thousands of people participated in the annual rush.
Last Year, the District Forest Office and MBNP had issued permission for export of 60 kg and 100 kg of Yarchagumaba respectively. According to MBNP, the quantity of Yarchagumba collected this year is half the quantity collected last year.
The export tariff per kilogram of Yarchagumba has been fixed at Rs 10,000. The collectors from MBNP area have to pay Rs 1,000 per person to acquire permission for picking Yarchagumba.
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