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Day laborers sort red chilies that have been dried in the scorching sun of a 30-acre family farm near Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, in the heart of India’s chili country. The spicy red peppers, native to South America, were brought to India by Portuguese traders soon after Vasco da Gama discovered the route to the Malabar Coast in 1498. Today India produces 41 percent of the world’s supply of dried red chili, much of it passing through the Guntur Mirchi Yard, the largest red chili market in Asia. From February to August, local smallholder farmers, who typically produce only 110 to 440 pounds on their small plots, bring their crop in burlap sacks to the market, where it is graded for quality, sold to buyers, processed into chili powder, and then shipped around the world. Low labor costs here allow every chili to be inspected and de-stemmed by hand.

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Day laborers sort red chilies that have been dried in the scorching sun of a 30-acre family farm near Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, in the heart of India’s chili country. The spicy red peppers, native to South America, were brought to India by Portuguese traders soon after Vasco da Gama discovered the route to the Malabar Coast in 1498. Today India produces 41 percent of the world’s supply of dried red chili, much of it passing through the Guntur Mirchi Yard, the largest red chili market in Asia. From February to August, local smallholder farmers, who typically produce only 110 to 440 pounds on their small plots, bring their crop in burlap sacks to the market, where it is graded for quality, sold to buyers, processed into chili powder, and then shipped around the world. Low labor costs here allow every chili to be inspected and de-stemmed by hand.

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