Women Porters on Kilimanjaro

You don’t see or hear of many women porters on Mt. Kilimanjaro. It’s generally a man’s world on the mountain, as most of the women are at home, working on the farm, taking care of all the children, and going to the market, and to fetch water. But this woman, Esther Crispin, has managed to break into the porters business and works on the mountain fairly regularly, hoping to one day be a guide.

This quote of Esther’s is pretty indicative of msot porters dreams too, except for the part of being a tailor. Most porters want to become a guide, as you don’t have to carry much, the money is better, and interact with people from all over the world.

“If I improve my English I might be able to work as a mountain guide some day,” Esther says. “But it would be even better if I could built up my own tailoring business. Then I would always be near my children.”

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