Guides and Porters working the Himalayan trek routes pay a shocking proportion of their pay to middle men. If you are planning on trekking in Nepal, take this opportunity to get in contact with your hired help directly. If you've been to Nepal and would like to recommend a Porter or Guide, or are looking for one please go to
http://www.geocities.com/porterguides
In December of 2000 we did the Annapurna Circuit in western Nepal. Like a lot of people, we needed a porter/guide to get the most out of the trip. In order to get a porter or guide you usually end up going into a travel agency or through your hotel. This is fine. It puts business the porter's way. What is not fine is the cut they take (nearly half of the money). If you've been to Annapurna or Everest, you'll know how hard these guys have to work for their dollar. It seemed wrong to me that in order to get work, the porters have to hand over several days pay to the guys behind the desks. This is the way they do things in Nepal. That doesn't make it fair or right.
Make a difference and go to http://www.geocities.com/porterguides
If you've used a porter or guide you'd be happy to reccomend to others, send on their details and I'll list them. If you are looking for a good guide or porter come have a look.
This is a non-commercial effort to help out Nepalese porters and guides.
Regards,
Fergal
|