In the uplands of Shan State, the hill tribes have long depended on water buffalo for the everyday mechanics of life: ploughing terraced fields, hauling crops and firewood, and moving people between scattered villages along narrow dirt tracks. These animals are not just “traditional” but part of a political economy shaped by altitude, marginal roads and decades of limited state investment, which kept motor vehicles rare and made animal power the practical technology of choice. When this photograph was made in 2012, Myanmar had only recently begun to open after military rule, and places like Hsipaw were emerging as launch points for short treks with one overnight stay into Palaung villages — bringing a small number of outsiders onto paths that had until then served almost exclusively local agrarian needs.