MekongEye-May 22
For tourists visiting Sapa, a town among the clouds in Vietnam’s northwestern mountains, a medicinal bath developed by the indigenous Red Yao people is a must-try experience. From Sapa, visitors take a bumpy road to Ta Phin village to soak themselves in 40-degree Celsius fragrant, foamy water in a wooden bathtub, washing away their fatigue and pains after a long hike. Outside the window is a vast view of a mountain valley, terraced rice fields and lush forests. These forests hold half of the secret to the healing power of the bath as the forests are where hundreds of medicinal plant species grow. The other half lies in the knowledge of the Red Yao people, who for generations have studied the plants’ healing properties and perfected the formulae for a vast range of medical conditions. But overharvesting driven by strong demand from China over the past two decades has already driven some species to extinction. Many plants around Sapa are classified as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of Vietnam, including those that can help treat cancer, diabetes and hypertension. Still, trading in those endangered plants continues. Conservation, as it is now, depends on individual accountability, “but where would you find this will power,” asked Tran Van On, an Associate Professor at the Hanoi University of Pharmacy. “The buyer has money, the prize is in the forest. [The Chinese] just go straight to the forest to buy [the endangered plants], if there are any still left there.” Read more at:
https://www.mekongeye.com/2023/05/22/ethnic-vietnam-medicinal/
