There, they gather fruits from peach palms, plantains, bananas, papaya, bita, and kafa. Gathering is an important component of the Yanomamo subsistence strategy. When gardens aren t producing well, gathering temporarily becomes their major source of food. Gathering parties ranging from a few households to an entire family line go out and set up camp in an area where they might expect to find specific things to collect. Gathered food is usually brought back to the shabono or camp.
Insects are a particularly important gathered food source.
While on gathering excursions, the Yanomamo also hunt game. Abandoned garden sites are excellent hunting grounds. The thick cover of low vegetation and the fruit from cultivated trees attract game. Men have been forced to change their hunting strategies as western civilization has begun to encroach on the forests of the Yanomamo. In less acculturated villages, men still practice their traditional form of hunting called rama.