This Blog is intended for Mountain porters in Nepal are some of the strongest men and women on earth. These mountain heroes carry loads for the trekking and expedition industry, working for only a few dollars a day. Porters can be seen carrying loads of over 60 kg at altitudes exceeding 5,000 Meters. This is often done in cotton jackets and sandals. Porters are typically lowland farmers who migrate to the popular trekking routes in search of work. The money they earn while trekking is essential to the cash-starved local economies of rural Nepal.
Tragically, too many porters die every year while trekking from preventable altitude sickness, falls, and hypothermia. Still others are crippled by snow blindness and frostbite. Trekking porters, who are the real backbone of the trekking industry, are working under low basic rights and facilities. There is still a lack of appropriate clothing, shelter, a good wage, and load limit, and provision for treatment.
The problems faced by the trekking industry flow on to Nepal’s porters and guides, who have greatly decreased work opportunities. Porters and guides are struggling for survival of themselves and their families. This only adds to the long-term problems with which porters are faced daily: lack of recognition of basic human rights, including education, safe working environments, basic health care, living wages, and, perhaps simplest but most fundamental of all, a widely observed load limit.
Some trekking agencies are often unwilling or unable to provide their porters with even the most basic facilities, and many mountain porters have limited education, and some possess little or no literacy skills. Porters, being unorganized and desperate for work, are unable to speak out against those who exploit them. This is why they are often vulnerable to exploitation and lack the confidence to speak up for their rights.
As we understand and realize, porters are the real backbone of the Nepali trekking industry, and a weak backbone cannot carry a heavy load for very long. To improve the working conditions and to create a sustainable future for Nepali trekking porters, Nepalese trekking companies have the key responsibility and opportunities to create a brighter future for porters if we become interested just to giving a small amount of care and commitment.
Considering this fact, dedicating ourselves to improving the guide and porters working conditions and dreaming to set an example to the trekking operators and trekkers, we have established a trekking company called Wilderness Excursion with the vision “A world in which trekkers experience the magnificence of the Nepali Himalaya and its people while porters and their families live with economic, social and environmental justice,” and our efforts are aimed at creating a strong backbone for the trekking industry.
Better working conditions and basic human rights of the porters and field staff are the cornerstone of the company.
Wilderness Excursion follows these guidelines and encourages all stakeholders to follow them also:
As equal to the Trekking Company, foreign trekkers also have a strong role and opportunities for the well-being of Nepali trekking guides and porters. Hiring a guide and porter is the most direct means a foreign trekker has of contributing to the rural economies of Nepal. Over time, portering has fed more people in Nepal than any other industry, and porters need employment now more than ever.
Also, as a valued paying client, you possess a great opportunity to advocate for the rights of the porters you hire. By employing guides and porters and taking direct steps to ensure that they are given a standard of treatment that you would expect for yourself, you will be setting a strong example for other trekkers and tour operators to follow.
Talk openly with your trekking company about porter treatment standards. Place yourself in Porter's shoes (or sandals), and make sure they are being properly provided for. Some appropriate questions may be:
Providing for your porters costs money, so don’t be stingy. A few dollars per day can make a great difference in the facilities available to your porters. Make sure your porters will be taken care of before you leave on your trek, and if your company cannot provide what you ask, find another company. Also, when it comes time to tip your guide and porter (generally around 25% of their wage), be sure to tip them directly. Unneeded clothing and equipment make a nice addition to your tip as well. Overall, set an example for other trekkers to follow. Treat your porters well, and spend time with them sometimes. Get the addresses of your porters after the trek and send them photographs; they will appreciate the gesture more than you can imagine. Lastly, try picking up a load yourself during your trek—it won’t take long to see how amazing these men and women truly are.
