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Cricket farming: Supplementary income for local Thais
In northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province, local farmers in Chiang Saen district are supplementing incomes -- and massaging their taste buds -- by breeding crickets, an insect which growing numbers of Thais are craving due to their unique, buttery taste.
Eating most foods is an acquired taste, so it does not sound terribly absurd to learn that local residents here include many who fancy tasty cricket dishes -- deep-fried with herbs, made into spicy salads using both cooked and raw crickets as well as in the form of chilli paste as a dip for rice or raw vegetables.
"The taste is lovely. Purely buttery," one male villager enthused. "It's hard to find enough crickets to eat!" A woman neighbour pitched in with her own assessment: "It's very delicious. I really like it."
Baan Saew Subdistrict Administrative Organisation in Chiang Saen district promotes cricket farming for local residents -- both for as home-grown food for their own tables and for selling as either a supplementary income or the main source of funds for the family.
"This is a career that can help you to become financially independent. You can earn Bt20,000 (over US$600) a month," said Somkuan Sutawong, chief of Baan Saew Subdistrict Administration Organisation.
The process of cricket farming is simple, as shared with us by Supachai Somabutr, 35-year-old president of the local cricket husbandry group. He said it is different than farming animals such as poultry, pigs, ducks or cattle, as such animals usually make loud and disturbing noises.
"Cricket husbandry is actually quite easy. Like other insects, they make distinctive noises, but not as loud. And you only feed them twice a day, once in the morning before leaving for work and in the evening when you get back home," said Supachai.
After receiving breeding crickets ready to lay eggs, it takes around 15 days for the eggs to become small ant-sized crickets. The insects are usually fed mush and water but farmers need to watch out and prevent ants from eating the small larvae. It will take another 15 days for them to grow large enough to be able to eat vegetables.
Supachai said he uses a specially formulated pumpkin concoction to feed his crickets because it helps them grow faster.
When the insects mature to some 45-60 days old, they can be caught for selling. Supachai says his business is going well, and that sometimes he runs out of enough crickets to sell.
About 100 kilos of crickets are sold monthly at Bt200-250 (US$6 to US$8) per kilo for restaurants and other retailers. Supachai said if the insects are carried to the capital for buyers in Bangkok, the price rises to Bt400 (US$12) per kilo, or it may reach Bt600-700 (US$18-21) if sent to the Andaman coastal resort of Phuket, one of Thailand's favourite tourist destinations.
Supachai himself earns about Bt100,000-200,000 (US$3,125-6,250) annually just from cricket farming, let alone his main career as a merchant selling dried food at a local market. For the insects, he said he sells both fried crickets ready-to-eat and their eggs, delivered with a farming handbook, for those interested in breeding them and to develop their own business.
Cricket husbandry needs no suits and ties but any profession helping you achieve financial independence is always to be commended. And when it comes to being fond of good food, local signature dishes are always in demand for your taste buds, even Hollywood star Angelina Jolie could not herself deny that Asian insects were not bad after all.
Cricket farming: Supplementary income for local Thais
In northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province, local farmers in Chiang Saen district are supplementing incomes -- and massaging their taste buds -- by breeding crickets, an insect which growing numbers of Thais are craving due to their unique, buttery taste.
Eating most foods is an acquired taste, so it does not sound terribly absurd to learn that local residents here include many who fancy tasty cricket dishes -- deep-fried with herbs, made into spicy salads using both cooked and raw crickets as well as in the form of chilli paste as a dip for rice or raw vegetables.
"The taste is lovely. Purely buttery," one male villager enthused. "It's hard to find enough crickets to eat!" A woman neighbour pitched in with her own assessment: "It's very delicious. I really like it."
Baan Saew Subdistrict Administrative Organisation in Chiang Saen district promotes cricket farming for local residents -- both for as home-grown food for their own tables and for selling as either a supplementary income or the main source of funds for the family.
"This is a career that can help you to become financially independent. You can earn Bt20,000 (over US$600) a month," said Somkuan Sutawong, chief of Baan Saew Subdistrict Administration Organisation.
The process of cricket farming is simple, as shared with us by Supachai Somabutr, 35-year-old president of the local cricket husbandry group. He said it is different than farming animals such as poultry, pigs, ducks or cattle, as such animals usually make loud and disturbing noises.
"Cricket husbandry is actually quite easy. Like other insects, they make distinctive noises, but not as loud. And you only feed them twice a day, once in the morning before leaving for work and in the evening when you get back home," said Supachai.
After receiving breeding crickets ready to lay eggs, it takes around 15 days for the eggs to become small ant-sized crickets. The insects are usually fed mush and water but farmers need to watch out and prevent ants from eating the small larvae. It will take another 15 days for them to grow large enough to be able to eat vegetables.
Supachai said he uses a specially formulated pumpkin concoction to feed his crickets because it helps them grow faster.
When the insects mature to some 45-60 days old, they can be caught for selling. Supachai says his business is going well, and that sometimes he runs out of enough crickets to sell.
About 100 kilos of crickets are sold monthly at Bt200-250 (US$6 to US$8) per kilo for restaurants and other retailers. Supachai said if the insects are carried to the capital for buyers in Bangkok, the price rises to Bt400 (US$12) per kilo, or it may reach Bt600-700 (US$18-21) if sent to the Andaman coastal resort of Phuket, one of Thailand's favourite tourist destinations.
Supachai himself earns about Bt100,000-200,000 (US$3,125-6,250) annually just from cricket farming, let alone his main career as a merchant selling dried food at a local market. For the insects, he said he sells both fried crickets ready-to-eat and their eggs, delivered with a farming handbook, for those interested in breeding them and to develop their own business.
Cricket husbandry needs no suits and ties but any profession helping you achieve financial independence is always to be commended. And when it comes to being fond of good food, local signature dishes are always in demand for your taste buds, even Hollywood star Angelina Jolie could not herself deny that Asian insects were not bad after all.
Cricket farming: Supplementary income for local Thais
