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IPPG Newsletters: July 2000
The Clothing Bank Project |
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| Ben Ayers,IPPG USA Representative |
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The life of the trekking porter isn't easy. Many porters working today are taken into the Himalaya dangerously ill equipped and unprepared for the cold, altitude, and snow to be found even on popular and developed trekking routes. There are no solid statistics on how many porters are injured or killed every year; estimates range from a handful of deaths to upwards of thirty. Injuries such as snow blindness, frostbite and hypothermia may number well into the hundreds.
Most of these injuries and deaths are preventable. The porter's suffering is a product of many factors. First, the tendency of the cutthroat end of trekking industry to neglect the typically uneducated and low-caste porters; then, the relatively low availability of work and the many willing porters drives down wages and safety standards; and finally the general lack of awareness among Western trekkers about adequate standards of treatment.
To improve this situation IPPG has joined forces with the Himalayan Explorers Club (HEC) and the Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP) to create a clothing bank for porters. Our intention is two-fold: first to provide independent trekkers, porters, and small trekking companies with a convenient and inexpensive means of equipping their porters, and second to raise awareness among the tourist population about acceptable standards of treatment.
A stockpile of windproof jackets, pants, gloves, hats, and sunglasses will be kept at the HEC/KEEP office in Thamel, Kathmandu (Ph 259275/259567, fax+977 1 256615, tour@keep.wlink.com.np). Independent trekkers will be encouraged to come to the office and outfit their porters before they leave for their trek. They will be asked to leave a deposit, and upon returning the clothing will be charged a small fee (5-10 rupees -US10-20¢ per day) to fund the maintenance and expansion of the program. The daily fee may also be waived in exchange for an appropriate clothing donation. All of the clothing and equipment will be marked, by patch or screen-print, in an attempt to deter trekkers using the program to outfit themselves.
Initially, the program started with a small amount of clothing that I donated using my wages from working at the HEC clubhouse. For the 2000/1 season clothing donated by Patagonia will be brought over from the USA and Australia and the program fully launched along with a publicity campaign. If you have any unneeded gear in reasonable condition, please consider donating it to the clothing bank via your country representative.
This program, of course, won't work unless people know about it. I'm asking here that all IPPG representatives, affiliates and friends and readers spread the word about this service via guidebooks, travel magazines, websites and word of mouth.
Finally I would love to receive any and all input, support, and criticism of this program that you may have to offer. Thanks and happy trails!
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