The days where salangane nests are reserved for the rich for its rarity may soon be gone. Normally, salanganes build their nests in deep caves on islands or on steep cliffs; nowadays, salanganes are being raised indoors in southern central and Mekong delta provinces.
Salanganes are famous for producing edible nests by their saliva, known as yen sao in Viet Nam. The nests, which have been exploited by humans since the 16th century, are considered to be a magical medicine in many parts of Asia.
The juice from the nests is said to help calm the nervous system and stimulate the reproduction system as well as brighten the skin, slow the aging process and prevent the emergence of tumors.
A kilogramme can be sold for 1,500 USD to 1,800 USD or even up to 3,000 USD in Hong Kong or Taiwan.
The Khanh Hoa Salangane Nest Company in the central province of Khanh Hoa, the first province in the country to successfully capture and breed salanganes in captivity, has recently incubated and raised indoor salanganes.
The company's director, Le Huu Hoang, said after several trials using an incubator imported from Indonesia, the company has now designed and manufactured incubators suitable for the Vietnamese environment.
The company built its first salangange breeding house in Khanh Hoa province's resort city of Nha Trang and then built three more similar houses in other localities in the province. It has set up a technical centre to offer consultance services to those who wish to breed salanganes indoors.
The Ho Chi Minh City-based Eka Vietnam has also been successful with its salangane raising projects. It has helped build nearly 30 salangane-raising houses located throughout central and southern provinces, including Quang Ngai, Quang Binh, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Dong Nai and Tien Giang.
The number includes 10 houses in Tien Giang province, where the local environment coupled with its hot and wet weather offer favourable conditions for raising salanganes. Eka Vietnam is working on building a "village of salanganes" in the province's Long Binh township.
"The houses must be located near the natural habitat of the birds and in their flight pattern and they should be created in a way to make the birds feel at home with artificial chirpings, rain and temperatures," Director of Eka Vietnam Le Danh Hoang said. He added that each house costs 60-80 million VND.
According to Hoang, a successful salangane house of 100 sq. m. in Viet Nam could produce 10 kg of nests, worth around 15,000 USD a year.
In Indonesia where there are more than 200,000 houses breeding salangane, one house could earn 70,000 USD a year.
Indoor salanganes (scientifically named Aerodraus Fuciphagus Amechanus) can build nests all year round while wild birds naturally produce nests twice a year. Moreover, the quality of indoor bird's nests is not very much different from the ones built on islands or cliffs.
There are around 100 species of salanganes but only four species produce edible nests and only two species can be raised in houses, scientifically respectively called Aerodramus Fucifagus and Aerodramus Germanicus.
Source: VNA