Mt. Kilimanjaro Porters
Find out about the people who carry your luggage up the mountain.
Porters Carrying Gear
Here is an example of porters carrying gear for the clients. These guys do the hard work!
Date: September 20th, 2005 |
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Help a Porter
The International Mountain Explorers Connection has been running the Porter Assistance Project since 2000. The program was started in Nepal and now has operations in Tanzania at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro. The project consists of a clothing lending program, English and First Aid classes, and tourists education programs.
Date: August 16th, 2005 |
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Proper Porter Treatment
How You can Help Ensure Proper Treatment
1. Porters are provided proper clothing and equipment:
Porters need adequate footwear, socks, waterproof jackets and pants, gloves, hats, sunglasses, etc. that are appropriate for their destination. Clothing and gear for loan is available at the International Mountain Explorers Connection (formerly Himalayan Explorers Connection) offices in Nepal and Africa, Porters’ Progress offices in Nepal, and Inka Porter Project offices in Peru (beginning in August 2003).
Date: May 26th, 2005 |
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Porter Protection
When checking out various companies for climbing Kilimanjaro, it’s very important to inquire how they take care of their porters on the mountain. Since porters have been abused in the past and there have been little rules to govern porter treatment, it’s important to make sure that the companies are taking active steps to insure that they are paided well, have adequate clothing and are not carrying weight above the legal limit.
Inquire about each of these things before booking with a company. Many local companies will pay you lip service and tell you everything is fine, but since many of the porters are independent contractors, you will sometimes show up on the trail and see your team of porters poorly dressed and carrying too much weight.
Date: September 9th, 2005 |
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Do porters love their job?
In the past, I have had experience working with porters on Mt. Kilimanjaro as I helped start the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project for the International Mountain Explorers Connection. We started a project that allows porters to check out gear, and gives them first aid and english classes. It also helps to educate the tourists on the problems that face porters on the mountain.
While working with some climbers, many have thought that porters must love their job. I remember a climbers asking a group, “Do you love climbing the mountain everyday and watching the sunrise and set?” The amazing thing was, this group of over 20 porters, actually told us that they didn’t like climbing the mountain - at all.
They didn’t find anything special or spirtual about it. It was cold, hard work, and they didn’t get to see their families for more than one week. They had to pay bribes to work with certains guides, get low wages (compared to what the companies charge), and it was tough competition.
For many porters, it is just a way to make money. That’s it. There is no other goal with being on the mountain - it’s purely a way to make money, pay school fees for their children, buy food, and live to see another day.
Date: August 11th, 2005 |
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Tipping
Many bewildered tourists are always nervous about tipping on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Of course, it’s important to be fair, and to have a good idea of the standard tip allowances to plan for your budget. But many tourists, especially Americans, are so nervous about tipping on the mountain that it tends to consume them – and has sometimes got the best of them.
Date: May 9th, 2005 |
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