Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Programme
When climbing Kilimanjaro, we are all so reliant on the hard work of the porters who carry heavy loads for us trekkers on the mountain. They are the unsung heroes of all climbing teams and without their help, we would not be able to experience this wonderful mountain. Unfortunately, they have very few working rights and all too often they are underpaid, poorly fed and overloaded by trekking companies operating on Kilimanjaro. Earth’s Edge are one of the few affiliate companies of KPAP, an American run NGO who are campaigning for porter welfare on Kilimanjaro. We signed up to a strict set of guidelines and invite a KPAP auditor on each of our climbs to ensure all our porters are treated fairly. This means when you book to climb Kilimanjaro with us you can be sure that you are part of a group who are treating porters fairly.
To donate directly to KPAP and help support their vital work, please visit; kiliporters.org. If you would like to know more about our work with KPAP please contact us or scroll down to read more about our Porter Clothing Drive.
Tree Planting
We plant 8 native trees in Nepal for each person that travels with us in partnership with Eden: People + Planet. We appreciate there is a huge environmental impact each and every time we take an international flight. In an effort to reduce this impact, we have partnered with Eden to plant trees in Nepal. They work with local communities to restore forests on a large scale, thereby creating jobs, protecting ecosystems, and helping mitigate climate change. If you would like to plant more, please contact info@earths-edge.com. Each extra tree costs €0.75 cents.
Carry Me Back program
In 2019, 720kg of waste was generated per day in the Khumbu region during the trekking season. At present, most of this is left behind in pits that are dug throughout the valley and the Sagarmatha National Park, where it is then burnt. This is due to the lack of infrastructure in the high regions and the difficulty to transport it out of the valley.
Through the Carry Me Back Program, run by Sagarmatha Next, we are helping to combat this issue. This is a crowdsourced waste removal system which utilises the movement of tourists to transport waste from this area to places where it can be recycled.
For any clients travelling in Nepal who are willing, we organise for them to carry a bag containing 1kg of segregated and shredded waste material to a pick-up point. From here, this waste is collected and transferred to a recycling facility.
You can read more about the project here.
Porter Scholarship Programme
We believe it is essential that our Earth’s Edge teams get the opportunity to progress in their chosen careers. Each year on Kilimanjaro we reward one of our hardworking porters by paying for their training to become a guide. The course which costs USD$900, is far beyond the means of most porters who make roughly USD$115 including tips per climb. After they feed and house their families, there is very little money left at the end of the month. This makes attending guide school virtually impossible. Once they qualify as guides their pay with tips will increase to roughly USD$220 per climb. This means they will have much more disposable income to feed and educate their families.
Another fantastic benefit of this programme is that it has fostered a healthy sense of competition amongst the porters. This has led to even better levels of service on the mountain! In May 2019, two of our porters Fuso (2018 winner) and Thomas (2019 winner) qualified as guides. In February 2022, Edson (2020 winner) qualified as a guide. In March 2023, Saidi (2021 winner) and Onest (2022 winner) also qualified as guides. If you or your company are interested in funding training for one of our porters be sure to get in touch to explore options.
Porter Clothing Drive
As anyone who has climbed Kilimanjaro will know, we are all so reliant on the hard work of the porters who carry heavy loads on the mountain. Without their help, we would not be able to experience this incredible mountain. Unfortunately, they are frequently ill-equipped for the harsh conditions on the mountain. Porters are often seen making the demanding trek without proper footwear or adequate layers.
Every year we reach out to our clients asking them to donate equipment they no longer need to the porters. We collect the equipment and bring it with us to Tanzania throughout the year. Since 2016 we’ve donated over 3,000 articles of clothing to our Earth’s Edge team in Tanzania. This project helps contribute to the circular fashion economy and provides our porters with the essential clothing to climb the mountain. For details on what and how you can donate, please visit our Porter Clothing Drive page. If you’re heading to Kilimanjaro and would like to help volunteer to transport some of these donations, visit the link to see how you can get involved!
