In a dusty studio, Indra Kaji Shilpakar painstakingly carves intricate patterns into a wooden panel, one of a small group of highly-skilled craftsmen Nepal is relying on to rebuild its cultural heritage after April’s major earthquake.
But Shilpakar, a master craftsman who learned at the hands of his father and uncle as a young boy, is one of a dying breed.
The wood-carvers, stone-sculptors and metal-workers who created the spectacular temples and palaces of the Kathmandu Valley were once feted as far away as China, and paid handsomely from the royal purse.
But over the decades their social status has fallen along with the money they are able to earn from their craft, and many young Nepalis are now rejecting the family trade to seek better paid work.