From early morning, dirt roads leading to the fields in Sing village are busy with harvesters. Job’s tears fields lie among coffee, corn and macadamia gardens stretching along mist-covered hillsides. Groups of Bahnar families work quickly, bundling ripe clusters as the year-end harvest unfolds in a steady, communal rhythm.
Mr. Đinh Thuật, 30, of Sing village, said his family set aside about two sào, or roughly 720 square metres, to grow Job’s tears intercropped with cassava since June. Benefiting from favourable rainfall and winds, the plot is expected to yield nearly 400 kilograms of seeds this year, all reserved for household use and traditional festivals.
Job’s tears have long been cultivated by the Bahnar people, valued for their drought resistance and minimal input needs. The crop matures after four to six months, growing up to nearly two metres tall, with sturdy leaves and seed clusters that turn from green to deep red at harvest.
“For generations, Job’s tears have been tied to our ancestors,” Mr. Thuật said, recalling how he learned cultivation methods from his parents. Each harvest, he said, represents both abundance and the preservation of ancestral seeds and farming practices.
In Tung Gút village, 60-year-old Đinh Thị Blang has completed her family’s harvest. She and her daughter dry the plants in the yard and gently beat the clusters to separate the seeds, a practice once essential for survival during wartime shortages. Though livelihoods have improved, villagers continue to grow Job’s tears to honour past hardships and pass on historical memory to younger generations.
According to village elder Đinh Gát of Sing village, nearly 20 households there still maintain the crop. While no longer a staple food, Job’s tears are now primarily used to brew rượu ghè for festivals and Tet. The seeds are dried, cooked and fermented with forest leaf yeast, galangal and chili for one to two weeks.
“Every seed is precious,” elder Gát said. “We grow Job’s tears not to sell, but for family use and important village occasions, and to teach our children traditional farming and customs.”
Nguyễn Văn Nhật, chairman of the Krong Commune Farmers’ Association, said only a few households across villages including Tung Gút, Sơ Lam, Sing and Klếch continue cultivating Job’s tears, covering about four to five hectares in total. With the cultivated area shrinking, local authorities plan to preserve traditional varieties and encourage expansion, linking production to the development of rượu ghè as a distinctive local product to support incomes while safeguarding cultural heritage.