• Burmese
Sunday, June 22, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
32 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

In Burmese Shops, Old Tires Find Many New Lives

Aye Aye Win by Aye Aye Win
July 9, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
In Burmese Shops

The government-run junkyard in Rangoon’s Insein Township

5.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — The air in the dark, dingy room is thick with the acrid smell of rubber. Aung Nyunt and a half a dozen other workers toil away there day and night, turning discarded tires into flip-flops, buckets and hard-to-find spare parts for used cars.

Their country may be undergoing one of the most remarkable transformations the region has seen in generations, but the trade they learned from their fathers decades ago appears to be as relevant today as ever.

Though military rulers handed over power to a nominally civilian government three years ago, paving the way for political and economic reforms, the vast majority of the country’s 60 million people remain desperately poor. For them, nothing is without value.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

June 21, 2025
987
Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

June 21, 2025
908
Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

June 20, 2025
806

Old truck tires are transformed into rubber washers and bushings for cars and rice mills. Machine parts, buckets and flip-flops—the most popular footwear in the rural areas—are among the biggest sellers for tire recyclers like Nyunt.

They are especially popular among farmers, the 63-year-old says proudly as he chisels away at the thread of a discarded tire, soon to be a sandal’s sole.

“When most flip-flops get stuck in the mud, the straps just snap off,” he says. “But these lift out in one piece.”

Another worker, Thwe Oo, nods. The 47-year-old has been at this job since he was 15.

“City folk” may think the flip-flops are ugly, Thwe Oo says, but they are cheap—1,500 kyats (US$1.50)—and sturdy. That’s what matters.

During Burma’s half-century of dictatorship and self-imposed isolation, the country went from being one of Southeast Asia’s richest to the poorest. Businesses were nationalized and everything from toothpaste to rice rationed. Only a few cars—all belonging to the ruling elite—bounced along the potholed roads, but they went through plenty of tires. And getting spare parts was next to impossible.

Kyi Thein Win’s late uncle—known as Bo Taya, or Boss of Tires—saw a need and filled it, turning tire recycling into a family business.

Today their shop is among nearly a dozen lining the streets on the suburbs of the country’s biggest city, Rangoon.

As the economy opens up, factories are springing up faster than ever, said Win, 39, but it’s still hard to get spare parts for machinery.

That’s true, too, of the 300,000 cars, most of them secondhand, now on the roads. They need rubber bushings and washers.

Win’s shop gets most of its most raw material—primarily huge tires from heavy trucks, tractors and backhoes—from government departments and private companies.

They get orders not just from individuals and local repair shops, but from government factories and large private industries.

“The economy is growing,” he says, humming a song as he gingerly cuts a machine washer from a thick black tire with a 7-inch knife. “I don’t expect business to slow down for us anytime soon.”

Your Thoughts …
Aye Aye Win

Aye Aye Win

The Associated Press

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.9k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.7k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
‘Burma Must Follow a Global Standard and Match It With Political Will’

‘Burma Must Follow a Global Standard and Match It With Political Will’

Time Out With Ta’ang Rebels

Time Out With Ta’ang Rebels

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

3 days ago
992
The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

3 days ago
694

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Residents of Myanmar Ruby Hub Speak Out as TNLA Mining Takes Toll

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.