Kachin woman and child sorting rattan outside of Mytkyina in Kachin State, Myanmar. Both of their faces are smeared with thanaka, a cosmetic paste made from the bark of Limonia acidissima.
Gung Aung and his elephant, Aung Bu, drag rattan out of the forest in northern Myanmar. [Note: The rattan is Plectocomia assamica Griff., an elusive, monocarpic, large-cane rattan that had never before been collected with flowers and fruits.]
And this is what rattan looks like before the leaf sheath is stripped off to extract the cane. Well-protected and quite beautiful, actually. This species, known locally as "taung kyein", is Calamus cf. wailong. It is an important commercial rattan in Myanmar.