44-year old Maaye Than grinds thanakha root, adding water, and makes a paste which she and many Myanmar women put of their skin. Thanakha is a traditional cosmetic that also blocks the sun, and she says she prefers it to more modern cosmetics.
"When I was young, my mother started putting thanakha on my face. I liked to wear it, and I worn it’s every day ever since." said Maaye Thaw, Thanakha Vendor.
The recent opening up of Myanmar’s economy has brought with it a rush of foreign brands trying to cash-in on this market of 60 million people. New products mean new choices. But some simply aren’t buying.
"I’ve just been told that these nuts and these shells, when combined, make a home remedy known as thayo, an alternative to shampoo. Now I doubt I’ll get much use out of it. But the people here insist: it’s not only better, it’s cheaper." said Roee Ruttenberg, Yangon, Myanmar.
It’s not just cosmetics. Foreign pharmaceuticals are also trying to break-in...to a market that in some parts is still largely controlled by traditional medicine.
"The older generation prefers it because they are more conservative in their approach. But the younger generation will try foreign medicine if they want immediate results." said Myint Zaw, Medicine Vendor.
But some warn - as Myanmar opens up, bringing in new products but also new diseases - a refusal to adapt might present new risks.
"You might create resistance, or make the virus develop some sort of resistance. So that’s not very very good, and that’s the main consequence." said Dorian Job, Country Director, Doctors without Borders.
Local hesitation, he says, has more to do with money - affordability as a barrier to accessibility - than with tradition.
source: CCTV
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