Kathmandu, Feb. 13 -- This article is the first of four profiles of the winners of Kantipur Icon 2018, awarded by Kantipur Foundation, the non-profit philanthropic arm of Kantipur Media Group. Mukunda Ranjit is the winner in the science & research category.

Inside a small room on the ground floor of a house in Mid-Baneshwor, a number of young men and women in aprons are busy working under the harsh glow of artificial light and the hum of a machine that maintains a steady temperature. These young men and women are surrounded by 20,000 potato, paulownia, black cardamom and banana seedlings stacked on a steel rack. Five organic technicians check these seedlings, produced through tissue culture, to ensure they have the required levels of vit...