Dolakha, May 9 -- five years ago, Kirantichhap, then under Mati Village Development Committee and now part of Bhimeshwar Municipality, was known as one of the district's major commercial centres. Ram Sharan Budhathoki of Kattike in Bhimeshwar Municipality-5 used to run a business there while also teaching at a nearby school.

At the time, a horticulture centre supported by the Swiss government operated in Kirantichhap to promote fruit farming suited to the local geography, including mangoes and lychees. Budhathoki received a coffee sapling from the centre as a gift, though he knew little then about the plant he had brought home.

The "Arabica" variety tree planted at the time still stands in his field today. Seeds from that original tree ...