Matustake mushrooms command high prices in Japan, but little of that profit makes its way to Central Oregon harvestersOne man in woods works on prosthetic limb
Nov 16, 2007
By Deanne Goodman
KTVZ.COM TV station (Oregon, USA)
It's like the gold rush of Central Oregon - except this rush is over coveted matsutake mushrooms. which grow wild during the summer months in the Deschutes National Forest.
Migrant workers come to the area and buy special permits and camp sites from the U.S. Forest Service, just to hunt for matsutake.
Kouy Loche is one of those workers.
Loche came to America as a refugee. He's picked matsutake mushrooms in Central Oregon the past 13 years, walking five to seven miles each day, sometimes 10.
It takes a physical toll on his already beaten body. Loche has a bump on his back from being tortured and beaten in slave camps during the Communist regime in Cambodia.
But that wasn't Loche's first or last brush with death. As a mushroom monitor, he makes sure fellow harvesters follow forest regulations.
It can be a dangerous job. Loche says it nearly got him killed by a man he has known since his days of being in the Cambodian military.
"He pointed the gun at my head about six feet away and said, 'I'm going to shoot your forehead, make you afraid of me forever.' I said, 'No, don't!' His hand was shaking."
"He pulled the trigger. I dodged it. He missed."
Loche said the man never served time for attempted murder but posted bail and is banned from Oregon for 15 years.
He hasn't dodged any other bullets. but he does have one inescapable battle wound. A land mine blew off his leg.
Loche's positive attitude is what keeps him going from dawn to dusk on a prosthetic limb.
His new limb is not a perfect fit: "I get blistering every day. Two or three places of blistering.".
For Loche, the pain is worth about $400 a day. Years ago, when the price was better, Loche and his wife made up to $800 a day picking matsutake mushrooms.
Loche could make a fortune if he could ship the mushrooms directly to Japan.
"When the mushrooms are sold in Japan, one kilo, which is 2.2 pounds, is worth $185 They only pay us $4 a pound here," said Loche.
He tells me the industry is run by the Japanese mafia. Price gouging keeps the pickers working long hours.
The majority of the 2,000 matsutake harvesters who come to Central Oregon are from Southeast Asia. About fifty are Latino migrant workers, and the rest are local pickers.
The 2007 season officially ended the first week of November.
Migrant workers come to the area and buy special permits and camp sites from the U.S. Forest Service, just to hunt for matsutake.
Kouy Loche is one of those workers.
Loche came to America as a refugee. He's picked matsutake mushrooms in Central Oregon the past 13 years, walking five to seven miles each day, sometimes 10.
It takes a physical toll on his already beaten body. Loche has a bump on his back from being tortured and beaten in slave camps during the Communist regime in Cambodia.
But that wasn't Loche's first or last brush with death. As a mushroom monitor, he makes sure fellow harvesters follow forest regulations.
It can be a dangerous job. Loche says it nearly got him killed by a man he has known since his days of being in the Cambodian military.
"He pointed the gun at my head about six feet away and said, 'I'm going to shoot your forehead, make you afraid of me forever.' I said, 'No, don't!' His hand was shaking."
"He pulled the trigger. I dodged it. He missed."
Loche said the man never served time for attempted murder but posted bail and is banned from Oregon for 15 years.
He hasn't dodged any other bullets. but he does have one inescapable battle wound. A land mine blew off his leg.
Loche's positive attitude is what keeps him going from dawn to dusk on a prosthetic limb.
His new limb is not a perfect fit: "I get blistering every day. Two or three places of blistering.".
For Loche, the pain is worth about $400 a day. Years ago, when the price was better, Loche and his wife made up to $800 a day picking matsutake mushrooms.
Loche could make a fortune if he could ship the mushrooms directly to Japan.
"When the mushrooms are sold in Japan, one kilo, which is 2.2 pounds, is worth $185 They only pay us $4 a pound here," said Loche.
He tells me the industry is run by the Japanese mafia. Price gouging keeps the pickers working long hours.
The majority of the 2,000 matsutake harvesters who come to Central Oregon are from Southeast Asia. About fifty are Latino migrant workers, and the rest are local pickers.
The 2007 season officially ended the first week of November.
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