"Until a few years ago, the butterfly pea flower was just another climbing plant in my village," says Nilam Brahma who lives in Anthaigwlao, a village in the northeastern Indian state of Assam.
Butterfly pea, also known as aparajita in India, grows as a vine and has a striking blue flower.
Around two years ago, Brahma heard that local women were making money selling the flowers, which can be made into tea, or a blue dye.
She decided to join them.
"The results surprised even me. The first time I earned $50 (£37) from selling dried flowers, I felt a shock. It made me believe I could control my own future," she says.






