It's 1AM and Kathmandu is asleep. But inside a small room in Nardebi, six boys are hard at work manufacturing cotton candy.

The pink candy floss looks fluorescent in the dim light as one boy tosses dyed sugar powder into the machine while another twirls wisps of candy with two sticks like an expert knitter. Some boys pack the candy into plastic bags while others fasten the end products on a clothesline hanging across to a connected bedroom.

The boys are aged 9-13 and are from Rautahat. They were sent to Kathmandu by their parents to look for work to supplement the family income. Due to load shedding, they have no choice but to wake up at irregular hours to prepare the candy floss.

A fellow villager, Dinesh Yadav, owns the 'factory' and takes charge of food, lodging and allowances for the boys. When he finished college, he bought a cotton candy machine in India and launched a small business venture to support his family here.

At dawn, the boys prepare and eat their meals before leaving for work with about 60 candy floss packets dangling from a stick. Priced at Rs 10 each, the packets sell fast, especially during festivals. Regardless of the sales, the boys receive fixed monthly wages: the younger ones earn Rs 1, 500 and older ones up to Rs 2, 500.

Some of the boys have spent almost three years away from their families and are homesick. But their optimism for the future helps chase the blues away. Some are ambitions to work in a clothes factory to fund their education.

Says 13-year-old Gopal Sah from Kesaraiya: "I hope to earn enough money to work in India some day."

HOPE FOR SALE: (l-r) Some of the boys harbour ambitions of earning enough money to leave the trade and seek better opportunities overseas. Gobinda sells cotton candy daily in front of the Jawalakhel Zoo. With their tall candy racks, these boys are hard to miss around town.