The Organic Gold Hunters of the Himalayas | Free Documentary

[Music] displayed like diamonds in Hong Kong's Pharmacy Windows this product is worth more than gold a medicinal mushroom an elixir of Youth an aphrodiziac prized by the Chinese its trade involves hundreds of thousands of men women and children and every year it represents billions of Euros this is its story harvested on the Tibetan plateau and in the Himalayas at an altitude of 5,000 m the ceps yasak kumu in tibetan is a strange creature half plant half insect every year thousands of villagers risk their lives braving the cold wind and snow for months on end for

a hidden treasure that's as rare as it is unusual and which nurtures incredible [Music] dreams in order to survive sugga la has to mix dung with soil he's a farmer he's done this all his life helped by his wife Mo and their two sons Raj and Surendra [Music] [Music] sugal lives in urot a village of the doo region in Western Nepal these communities have always relied on barter but with the arrival of new consumer goods from the outside their way of life has changed they now want more than just the bare necessity and for that

they need more money spe forch ] for speech fore forign foreign spech speech ] for speech ] forch speech fore speech IGN speech after several days of preparation sual and his family leave in May for two whole months to collect yasak kumu in the pool a DOT of butter on the forehead and a white scarf are traditional blessings for their dangerous Journey Into the Heart of the mountains forch [Music] speech forch fore for speech the streets gradually empty sugal isn't the only one to be going the whole village is starting out on a strange migration

[Music] [Music] the mountains are dangerous not all of them will make it back sugal knows it so before facing two months far from home he prays one last time for protection accept this life and spare our family [Music] [Music] it's the same scene throughout all the doo Villages and the surrounding valleys the m are loaded houses are shut up ready for the hunt for yasak kumu it's a NeverEnding procession from every village a true Gold Rush some will walk for 8 to 10 days before reaching their destination the whole mountain is in motion [Music] [Music]

every Springtime the doo mountains become a real elor schools and public services close down monasteries are deserted it's said that in some Villages there aren't even enough able-bodied people left behind to burn the dead until the pickers come back sugala like the others hopes to earn a Year's wage in just two months [Music] [Music] [Music] Dan Chandra isn't leaving his village yet he's not a picker he's a Trader he's also extremely busy preparing for the yasak kumu season he gives money to his men so they can travel the mountains and buy the precious product speech

] spech for speech speech ] [ foreign speech ] forign D Chandra doesn't work alone he has to pay large sums of money in advance tens of thousands of Eur to buy the yasak kumu he works for danu INE speech forch ] speech ] forign speech ] forign speech ] speeech ] forign speech IGN speech ] [ speech fore spech ] forch [ for speech ] forign speech ] fore speech ] speeech ] forch ] for speech ] fore speech ] in KATU danu is reassured the yasak kumu season is underway [Music] in May and

June Doo's population increases sixfold with the arrival of over 60,000 yasak kumu Pickers camps Sprout up all over the [Music] valleys after a 2-day walk sugal and his family arrive at the banga camp at an altitude of 3,800 m [Music] Provisions are either carried on men's backs or loaded onto mules [Music] today the Banger Camp wakes up in sorrow death is on the prow young R becomes conscious of the [Music] danger for speech for speech IGN speech fore speech speech ] foreign [ foreign speech IGN spech speech fore speech ] speech ] fore speech foreign

speech ] foreign speech for speech fore spe [Music] speech speech ] [Music] for speech ] [Music] speech fore speech ] for speech fore speech foreign speech [Music] spee for speech ] foreign speech ] foreign speech ] foreign speech IGN speech fore speech fore spech fore spech for [Music] speech for Dan Chandra the trader it's time to leave like his men he's off to buy the best yasaku he can find IGN this year D Chandra is taking his camera with him he wants to photograph the Gold Rush that has drastically changed the region in the past

10 years for speech ] fore spee spe speech fore speech IGN spee [ foreign for speech ] fore speech ] forign spech ] [ for speech ] foreign speech ] speech ] fore speech while Dan Chandra moves into the mountains the men at The Banger Camp meet to discuss their secret hunting grounds y kumu is a victim of its own success and is increasingly hard to find fore speech ] foreign speech ] IGN speeech ] for speech speech speech ] for speech ] for speech ] for speech [ fore speech ] speech spee speech foree

this is's initiation season he's going to learn everything from his father but now his little brother Surendra is bombarding him with questions ech foreign foreign speech ] fore speech ] speech speech ] fore speech speech ] for speech IGN foreign speech ] speech IGN speech speech underground at an altitude of around 4,500 M lives a vulnerable little caterpillar melting snow and rain soaked down into the ground carrying the spores of a formidable killer mushroom ofio Corps sinensis it invades the caterpillar's body gradually devouring it but the fungus soon feels cramped in this small cavity and

bursts out through the insect's forehead into the open air the yasa kumu is [Music] born even after all these years Dan Chandra is still fascinated by the winterworm yasa and the summer herb kumu it's one of Nature's Mysteries a caterpillar that becomes a herb with the coming of Summer Legend has it that it all began when the owner of a yak Caravan returning home from an exhausting Journey noticed that the animals who fed on this strange herb recovered better that was 1500 years ago from then on yasa gumu was reserved for Chinese emperors [Music] back

at the Banger Camp the early Rises are off to try their luck but sugga Lao has decided to take his family up to a higher spot [Music] [Music] hoping to find more yasak kumbu they climb up to 4,200 M and the ti camp where vegetation is sparse [Music] speech ] forign speech ] foreign speech ] foreign foreign speech ] ] [ spe speech for speech ] foreign speech ] foreign fore speech ] forign speech ] foreign speech ] this is how yasak kumbu is picked bent over double from dawn to dusk with only a few

corn cakes for sustenance every inch of ground is searched if the yeti exists it's sure that yasak kumu Pickers would have found it a long time ago Raj's initiation is about to begin [Music] speech fore speech for speech speech foreign spe speech ] speee spech forch foreign speech [ forign speech ] forign speech IGN speech IGN parents bring their children along because their eyesight's better they hope that way they'll find more yasak kumu but at 4,500 M it's not an easy job for a 12-year-old [Music] Raj knows he's got a lot to learn you need

an expert eye and a gut instinct for yasak kumbu to find it amongst this tangle of twigs and shrub in a neighboring Valley Dan Chandra makes a break in his endless Journey he got bad news speech for speech ] forign speech ] for speech ] foreign ] forign [Music] speech for speech IGN foree speech ] fore [ foreign speech ] foreign speech ] [ for speech ] [ forign speech ] for forign speech ] foreign speech ] speech [ foreign speech ] foreign speech fore foreign speech ] forign for speech ] foreign speech ] fore

[ foreign speech spech [ foree speech ] fore speech ] for yasak kumu provokes greed and Envy in some Doo ins tents pitched at the intersections of Mountain Trails you can have some rather unpleasant encounters spech [ forch speech [ for speech ] for speech ] foreign speech fore speech ] foreign speech [ fore speech ] foreign speech foreign speech ] [ forch speech IGN speech ] forch ] [Music] forign it's been a month since sugga and his family left OT at the titer Camp Raj continues his apprenticeship fore speech foreign speech ] forign speech

foreign spee speech foreign speech ] foreign speech ] spech [ for speech ] for speech speech speech foree Napal accounts for less than 2% of yasak kumu production most of it comes from the Tibetan Plateau it used to be common for a picker to collect 100 pieces a day but since China's economic boom demand has steadily risen just like the number of Pickers it's now quite an achievement to find 10 [Music] foreign speech speech ] for foreign speech speech ] forch spech speech [Music] [Music] fore foree [Music] su's demons have caught up with him he's

given in to the temptation of [Music] gambling fore speech ] foreign speech [Applause] [Music] fore fore speech ] speech foreign speech ] for speech ] speech ] foreign spech [ forign speech ] forign speech ] fore speech ] foreign speech ] foreign speech ] forign speech ] fore spe speech ] forign speech [ foree speech 4500 on the other side of the pass Dan Chandra finds refuge in in inali [ forign speech speech for [Music] speech [ for speech ] speech [Music] ] spe speech [ fore speech ] [ fore speech ] [ foreign speech

] foreign fore speech ] for speech ] [ for speech ] [ foreign spech speech ] [ for speech ] for speech for speech [Music] as Dan Chandra sets off again sugal and his family are crossing the thieves pass 5,500 m above sea [Music] level they'll have to pick higher up and further away to earn back what their father l lost at [Music] dice at the Pilgrim's Lake they make offerings to the gods oh please make sure we have a good harvest fore speech fore [Music] [Music] [Music] spe [Music] [Applause] it's full moon and the

hunters have organized a gathering in the middle of the valley 4,100 m above sea level they've come to relax and play for a few days in memory of one of their colleagues who died 3 years ago of exhaustion [Music] [Music] I about to to better sugal and his family have arrived at the overhang Camp we're well into June but at 4,600 M it's still freezing at night [Music] as the snow melts it reveals new hunting ground sugal leads his son towards the Peaks although Raj is getting a good eye for yasak kumu he still lacks

experience in the mountains [Music] it's getting late the weather's changing they take cover in a cave life's fragile up here in order to survive people help one another out outout the last person to stay in a cave always leaves wood for the next visitor [Music] it's the beginning of Summer but snow has covered the Harvest areas and stops work for several days [Music] 7 weeks after leaving home Dan Chandra has crossed half a dozen 5,000 m mountain passes and arrives at the overhang camp [Music] foree ] fore speech ] for speech ] [ fore speech

] foreign spe fore speech speech ] speech ] foree speech ] [Music] if the weather's bad there's always the movies [Music] [Music] it costs one yasa kumu to get in Raj and the other children are happy they get to play for a change [Music] [Music] it's business as usual for Dan Chandra forign speech ] speech ] speech foree [ foree speech speech ] forch speech ] [ foreign speech speech [ fore [ speech ] foreign speech ] foreign spee speech [ for speech ] forign speech ] fore speech ] foreign speech ] [Music] fore speech

for speech ] foreign spech fore for foreign spee speech ] speech ] forch fore speech forign spee for speech [Music] thanks to his sharp eyesight Raj is now better than his father children here helped to support the family from the age of 12 paying for the school books pens rice oil and salt brought in from outside next year his little brother Surendra will be lending a hand too [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] in the meantime Raj still has to tend and clean his harvest in order to get the best price [ speech speech speech ] speech

IGN speech ] foreign speech ] [ fore speech ] foreign speech ] fore speech ] speech [ for speech ] for [Music] after 2 months away Dan Chandra is back in his village with his father he's preparing the yasak kumbu for its next Journey the yasak kumu is stored in the dark to dry but not too long for it can turn brittle and break its value would plummet and two months of hard work would go down the drain 10 kilos its estimated value in medine shops in China €300,000 300 years pay for the average nepales

such a valuable load requires certain precautions [Music] Katmandu the capital of Nepal the yasak Kumo's first urban destination [Music] danu the exporter who financed the Harvest is there to greet Dan [Music] Chandra foreign speech for speeech [ foreign speech ] spech fore fore speech forign speech for speech forign speech ] [ foreign speech ] for speech ] foreign speech ] fore speech [ foreign speech ] fore speech ] for spech Fore speech [ fore speech speech IGN spech IGN speech ] foreign speech for speech ] forign speech fore speech in Hong Kong the shaogang district

is home to shops specializing in Chinese medicine where you can find some very strange things [Music] danu and Dan Chandra have come to sell their Harvest to Mr Fu a yasak kumu specialist the yasak kumu goes through a metal detector to ensure that it hasn't been tampered with spech [Music] okay okay very good okay no problem okay thank you thank you thank you almost 200 tons will be sold this year that's a turnover of5 billion e yasak kumu boosts the immune system acts as a tonic and even a doping substance but in China it's known

mostly as an aphrodiziac whether myth or reality yasak kumu continues to enth for nowadays it's the new Emperors Rich Chinese and politicians who buy yasak kumu along with their power they naturally want a long life and the concubines to accompany it yasa kumu has replaced champagne at parties according to Mr Fu it's popular not only because it's an aphrodiziac but because it's an elixir of Youth in fact it's good for everything when everything's good sex is good and when sex is good everything's good The Season's coming to an end at The Banger Camp the Shaman's

got no one to treat IGN speech foreign speech ] for speech for speech ] forch [ foreign speech ] forign speech ] forign spech [ [Music] for spech for speech ] for speech ] foreign speech IGN speech for forch speech ] forign speech ] IGN speech for speech speech ] foree IGN speech ] fore speech ] forign speech for speech for speech ] [Music] for speech although money from yasak kumu is currently making life easier for some villagers the future is uncertain how long will this Eldorado last how will Raj and his brother earn their

living in tomorrow's World speech ] forign speech ] [ foreign speech ] for spech IGN speech speeech ] foreign forign speech for speech ] speech foreign speech [Music] [Music] oh him you [Music] you [Music]