On the paths of the Small Balhan in early autumn, the red beads of the barberry shimmer with an amber sheen, and amateur pickers in protective clothes from thorns, with backpacks behind their backs, go in single file into the mountain gorges. There, having reached the desired heights and having chosen the most “productive” slope for themselves, they deftly set to work.

In the fresh air, combining useful activities and pleasant leisure is a pleasure for many, says Nury Kapurov, a resident of Balkanabat, on the pages of the “Neutral Turkmenistan” newspaper. The largest berries go only to patient and desperate tourists and pickers, because tall sprawling bushes are thorny and painfully hairy.

Part of the harvest is traditionally left for the culinary and medicinal needs of the family for the year ahead, the rest is sold to lovers of a natural product. The demand for barberry among Balkanabat residents is great, and it is instantly sold out, the author notes.

The fruits of barberry taste sour, but they are of great value for maintaining appetite, they have immunostimulant properties, it is believed that they can lower blood pressure and improve the circulatory system. From them you can make jam, compote, syrup, tincture.

Recently, attempts have been made to grow barberries in a cultural form, including on the land plots of the Landscaping Department of the Communal Services of the administrative center of the Balkan velayat for landscaping purposes.

However, it is the mountain barberry that accumulates the most healing “forces for health” and collected in natural conditions is especially valuable, the author notes.