From generation to generation, the local people of Mergui -Tavoy District –commonly known as Paw Klo Area, Tanintharyi Region – have been drinking an herbal tea made of local roots which they believe gives them good health and energy. The local people refer to these herbal roots not as plants, but as healers. This traditional herbal tea includes 30 to 100 varieties of medicinal roots. Hence, traditionally this medicine is drunk in the forest. To preserve these herbal plants, they look after the forests, but face significant challenges in their forest protection efforts.
This short film, co-produced by KESAN and Takarpaw Youth Group (TKP), features the richness of medicinal plants in Paw Klo’s Forests, the unique wisdom of its Indigenous herbalists, the efforts of the local community to preserve their herbal forests, and the threats they face. Please see the film for more details.