Will you step up and help improve the lives of porters?

Oliver Pelling

May 15, 2019

In a bid to improve the quality of life and working conditions for porters around the world, The Intrepid Foundation is challenging travelers to support them by clocking virtual kilometers. Interested? It’s as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.

You’ve picked your trail. You’ve booked your ticket. You’ve bought your boots. You’ve clocked some extra miles at home and you’ve stocked up on trail snacks. Next stop: The literal or metaphorical summit of whichever trek you’ve decided to tackle; your own personal Everest.

But whether you’re trekking in Peru, Tanzania, Borneo, Papua New Guinea or anywhere else in the world, you won’t be going anywhere fast without the help of a porter. The unsung heroes of the trekking industry, porters clock unfathomably long days, while carrying unfathomably heavy loads, for unfathomably little pay—all in a bid to make your journey as comfortable as possible.

Porters on the Inca Trail in Peru. — Porters on the Inca Trail, Peru. Photo: Ryan Bolton

But unlike other travel industry professions, porters are notoriously under-represented. Many suffer low wages, dangerous working conditions, poor nutrition and receive very little support from the companies that employ them.

While working conditions for porters vary greatly from one country (and company) to the next, there is a universal lack of understanding around the issues these men and women face on a day-to-day basis.

But all of that’s about to change.

As part of its Step Up for Porters Challenge which kicks off on 1 June 2019, The Intrepid Foundation has commissioned a piece of independent research that aims to shed light on the state of porters around the world. The results, expected in June, will be a positive step towards inspiring organizations to take better care of their porters, and to provide porters around the world with better working conditions and an improved quality of life.

Porters pack items into large sacks, ready to be transported on the Inca Trail, Peru. — Porters pack items into large sacks, ready to be transported along the Inca Trail, Peru. Photo: Ryan Bolton

While The Intrepid Foundation’s parent company, Intrepid Group, already has a porter policy in place, the foundation believes more needs to be done to ensure fair working conditions for porters around the world.

“The key international tour companies are doing reasonably well,” says The Intrepid Foundation’s general manager Robyn Nixon. “The issue is that locally, there are a lot of small businesses, and they might be cutting costs and corners. We want to get the travel industry to move towards an agreement on global policy for porters. Part of that might not just be about their working conditions and equipment, but also career progression and the education they need.”

In addition to the research piece, The Intrepid Foundation is challenging travelers to support porters’ rights by logging virtual steps on some of the world’s most iconic trails (think Base Camp, Kili, and the Inca Trail) via the Healthwise app during the month of June 2019.

An AU$25 registration fee will go directly towards the Porters Collective, which is made up of three NGOs that support better working conditions for porters. In addition to the registration fee, participants can compete on leaderboards in the app and set up personal fundraisers individually or as part of a team.

The goal is to raise over $175,000 for porter rights, and a few lucky steppers will be in the running to win a trip courtesy of Intrepid Travel. “Anyone who’s done a trek really understands the importance of porters and the amazing work they do,” says Nixon. “And as a foundation, we’re trying to help people get fit while also doing good for porters—we really believe they’re at the heart of any trekking experience, anywhere in the world.”

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The Intrepid Foundation’s Step Up for Porters Challenge will run from 1-30 June 2019. You can participate by signing up, contributing a $25 donation to support porters, and tackling a range of ‘virtual’ treks around the world. All donations will go towards improving porter welfare around the world. Visit The Intrepid Foundation for more info.