PHOTO: Day’s End at Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market in Kathmandu

Trash blows around the lanes as vendors pack up and head home in late afternoon at the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market in Kathmandu. Empty plastic milk crates are stacked high, awaiting incoming goods that arrive during the night. The following morning, the process will begin anew, with wholesalers arriving before dawn in order to be ready for a daily onslaught of customers that begins at 4 a.m. The market was established by the Ministry of Agricultural Development to increase production and sale of fruits and vegetables in Nepal. More than 350 registered wholesalers, 71 retailers, and 26 co-operatives and farmers groups sell their products at this market, which is estimated to supply 70% of the demand for fresh fruits and vegetables in the Kathmandu Valley. The market is little known and rarely visited by tourists, which makes it an even more fascinating site to visit.