By james art The flower fields of the Nepalese village of Gundu glow yellow, orange and purple as women harvest blossoms, a thriving industry that transforms the village’s difficult life by providing garlands for Hindu festivals.
Nestled on the edge of the Kathmandu Valley, Gundu is known for supplying brightly colored amaranth and marigold flowers, with demand rising for this week’s Tihar celebrations, also known as Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
At dawn, village women gather in the fields to pick the flowers, which by the end of the day will be woven into garlands to decorate homes and temples.
Gundu women have turned this seasonal bloom into a thriving industry despite the laborious process of picking and weaving them into garlands.
“It has provided more jobs for the women of our village,” said flower farmer Saraswoti Bista, 56.
“We don’t have to leave the house, and by weaving garlands, we earn a good income,” she added.
Nepal, a Hindu-majority Himalayan nation, has a per capita GDP of $1,324, according to the World Bank.
The booming trade has turned Gundu into a model for flower production, with nearly 500 households supplying more than one million garlands each year, generating more than $133,000, according to local village officials.
When the festival reaches its peak, garlands spill from rooftops and verandahs, filling the village with vibrant purple, red and orange, a floral centerpiece in Nepal.
The dramatic dark purple globe amaranth, known in Nepal as mahmali, is particularly sought after during the five-day Tihar festival.
Dried blooms can last for months – or even years – with proper care.
Garlands are given by sisters to their brothers on the fifth day of Tihar, as a symbolic gift wishing them long life.
Nepal produced about 2.5 million garlands of amaranth flowers in 2024, a 10 percent increase from last year, according to the Nepal Florist Association.
“It also delivers to different countries,” said florist association representative Dilip Bade.
The country is slated to export 200,000 garlands worth $1.4 million to the United States, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Europe, according to the Florists Association.
But while the flower industry is booming, severe flooding, exacerbated by climate change, has hit the floriculture sector hard, leading to estimated losses of more than $1.1 million. AFP