A traditional medicine shop sells slices of elephant skin (left). Myanmar’s fast disappearing wild elephants sell for a few dollars per square inch claiming they can cure diseases. ‘Elephant skin can cure skin diseases like eczema,’ says one shop owner. ‘You burn pieces of skin in a clay pot. Then you get the ash and mix it with coconut oil to apply on the eczema.’

Photograph: Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images