Fly larvae breeds success for women in Nepal village

Kamala Shrestha along with Mana Maya Shrestha, Sita Tamang, Samjhana Shrestha and Bina Kumari Shrestha work as they feed and collect Black Soldier Fly larvae at a farm in Bhardev village on the outskirts of Lalitpur, Nepal August 11, 2023. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

BHARDEV, Nepal (Reuters) - In a village a little over an hour's drive from Nepal's capital of Kathmandu, six women wearing yellow rubber gloves and surgical masks work in a shed, gently squeezing the wet larvae of the black soldier fly into small plastic containers.

Another woman slices pears and wilted vegetables to feed the insects, known more commonly as BSF, that are held in two plastic cages equipped with thermal panels for artificial light and heat to maintain the required temperature inside the tin-roofed 800-square-foot shed.