Tag: Industry Bloggin’

Industry Bloggin’

The Annapurna Circuit is experiencing some big changes, thanks to a government-sponsored road and access project.  It’s a hotly debated topic among travelers, travel providers, and local communities in the region, most of whom disagree on the necessity and benefits of the road.  Check out a post I wrote from World Nomads’ Responsible Travel Blog on the subject.

The Death of Nepal’s Greatest Trek

For many years, I have wanted to visit Nepal. The massive Himalayan range has beckoned me to explore its peaks and valleys through National Geographic shows, Conde Nast Articles, and travel blog posts. Last month, I finally arrived in my dream destination, and my experience along the famed Annapurna Circuit was nothing short of spectacular. For 11 days, we trekked through picture-perfect river valleys, up and down over high mountain passes, and through remote villages accessible only by foot and donkey. The Annapurna Massif dominated our views throughout the trek, awing us hourly as we followed the trail from east to west. The Annapurna Circuit has rightfully earned its reputation of one of the world’s great walks, and may just top my personal list of favorite treks.

Trekking along the Annapurna Circuit

But I got there just in time. See, from a trekker’s perspective, the Annapurna Circuit is doomed. The entire circuit, once a 3 week endeavor, has already been shortened to 11 days due to a road that opened up in 2008 along the Kali Gandaki (western) valley. Now the eastern side is in jeopardy, as road construction slowly makes its way up the Marsyangdi valley. Within 3 years, the trek will be cut short again, this time down to only 4 days of trail without a road. What was once an epic, multi-week adventure into alpine wilderness and remote villages will be cut down to a mere long-weekend trip for anyone with access to a good jeep. Trekkers around the world are lamenting about this dark development of one of the world’s best playgrounds.

Road construction - blasting out of the sheer rock faces to make room for vehicles

Upon learning of Annapurna’s bleak future, my first reaction was disappointment (after all, I am a trekker!). My second thought was for the now-thriving trekker tourism industry, and how massively debilitating such a move will be for the local communities who rely heavily on trekker dollars. The Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) is Nepal’s most popular trekking region, with 60% of trekkers spending their holidays here (that’s over 60,000 visitors per year). There are over 1,000 lodges and teahouses throughout the ACA, and thousands more who rely on supplying goods and services to lodges and trekkers. No doubt that these individuals and businesses will encounter a big loss as trekker numbers dwindle over the coming years.

But taking a further step back, and forgetting about my own selfish reasons for wanting the trail to be kept intact, it becomes apparent why such a road is not only important, but necessary for the livelihoods of the rural Nepalese:

  • The cost of goods, commodities, and services in these remote villages is very high because of a lack of transportation infrastructure (everything must be carried in by hand or animal). Access to simple daily items is currently cost prohibitive for many people.
  • Access to health care in these villages is extremely limited, and many people suffer greatly because they cannot manage the multi-day walk to the nearest clinic (or cannot afford to have someone carry them)
  • While many villagers work in tourism-related businesses, many more work in agriculture. As people transition away from subsistence agriculture and towards cash crops, they need access to markets to sell their production.
  • Food security, access to energy, and the development of hydropower will all come with road development.

Trekking where the road will never go - Approaching Thorong La Pass

The road development could even be good for Nepal’s tourism industry – even the poor trekkers. A shorter, more accessible Annapurna will draw a different kind of tourist – one that is limited on time, though likely less limited financially. A higher-end tourism product will emerge with accessibility, with higher volume potential, bringing more tourism dollars to a smaller area. Good for everyone – certainly not. But an overall increase in tourism dollars to Nepal – likely. And the trekkers, we’re an intrepid bunch, and new great walks will arise. For one, the Annapurna Base Camp trek – an 8-day walk into the heart of the massif – will be unaffected by the road. But better yet, this is an opportunity to spread the benefits of tourism further afield to other regions, to find the undiscovered gems of a country that has more alpine trekking potential than some continents. We may be witnessing the end of the Annapurna Circuit era, but certainly not the end of amazing trekking in Nepal, and local people will live better lives as a result.


Industry Bloggin’

In my latest post for World Nomads, I talk about how Jaisalmer’s famous fort is being loved to death by locals and travelers alike.  Check it out here, or copied below:

How Tourism Conquered India’s Oldest Fort

Jaisalmer Fort, situated along the Thar desert in western Rajasthan, is one of India’s most impressive  historical monuments.  The Fort, built in 1156 by the Rajput ruler Jaisala, rises out of Trikuta Hill and is surrounded by golden sandstone walls dotted with 99 bastions that radiate in the desert sunlight.  Jaisalmer Fort is a living museum – claimed by some to be the oldest still-inhabited citadel in the world – with a palace, temples, hundreds of havelis, and over 1/4 of the old city’s population – about 2500 people.  The Fort is also one of the world’s most endangered monuments.

Jaisalmer Fort, from a distance

Bastions lining the Fort's outer walls

Jaisalmer Fort is being destroyed, and the primary culprit is tourism.  One of the most popular attractions in Rajasthan, the Fort has endured an explosion of hotels and restaurants along its narrow cobbled paths.  These water-intensive businesses require the Fort’s aging water system to pump 120 liters of water per person through its pipes – over 12 times its intended capacity.  Exacerbated by poor building practices and overcrowding, these drainage issues are causing the Fort to literally sink into the hill, collapsing buildings, walls, and bastions in the process.  Since 1993, over 250 historic buildings have fully or partially collapsed, including 3 of the 12-century bastions.

Jaisalmer Fort is falling down

As a result of tourism’s negative impact, nearly all guidebooks covering Jaisalmer strongly advise against staying within the Fort’s walls, and some ask that travelers do not eat at the Fort restaurants either.  But not all residents feel this boycotting approach is good for the local industry.  Not surprisingly, all of the business owners I spoke with within the Fort adamantly protested against the guidebook advice, claiming that the Fort’s condition is most certainly stable, and without tourism, their livelihoods are in jeopardy.  Outside the Fort’s walls, opinions were mixed – some agreeing that tourism should be controlled within, others more sympathetic to the struggling hotels inside the Fort.

As a responsible traveler, you have to make a choice – support the struggling local businesses who desperately need your rupees for survival, or support the ban on staying within the Fort’s walls to help curb deterioration.  I chose to stay outside the Fort, but after meeting a few locals impacted by the ban, I’m not sure what the most “responsible” choice really is.

For more information on saving Jaisalmer Fort, check out the very impressive accomplishments of the charity, Jaisalmer in Jeopardy.


Industry Bloggin’

On our Northern Circuit Safari, our guide opened our eyes to the harsh realities of the education system in Tanzania.   Check out the blog post I wrote for World Nomads’ on the subject.  Original can be found here, or copied below:

Investing in Education in Tanzania

Education is something we take for granted.  Sure, some of our public schools aren’t the best, but it is not only a given, it is a law that all children must go to school.  And, everyone has the opportunity to finish high school at little to no cost.  Many places around the world do not have this luxury.

Learning about the different education systems in our destination countries has been fascinating.  Every place does it slightly differently, from when kids start, to when they finish, to what is required of them to move on to a higher level of schooling.  While every country offers some form of free education, most of the time the free ride ends after about grade 7 or so.  To continue on to high school (or the equivalent), a student must score well on an entrance exam, and the family must pay for the schooling.  Though this price is quite small (by our standards), it is often cost-prohibitive for the family.  More of an issue, however, is that the child is often needed on the farm or the family business.  The idea of using very precious savings to send a kid to school when they could be producing for the family is one that most parents can’t justify.  Particularly for girls.

Working hard at a young age in Tanzania

Amani, our safari guide in Tanzania, is one of the lucky ones.  He comes from a poor farming village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro where most children finish their education after “Standard 7”.  Amani had to plead with his parents to send him to secondary school, but as subsistence farmers, they simply did not have the money.  Amani was very fortunate that others in the community saw his promise, and with the financial help of neighbors and extended family, he was able to convince his parents to invest what little they had in his education and his future.  Upon finishing secondary school, Amani scored high on the national exam, and wanted to go to university to become a safari guide.  His parents could certainly not afford this, but Amani’s uncle, a guide himself, put up the money to cover the university costs.

The community’s investment in Amani’s education paid off many times over.  As a successful safari guide, Amani makes a wage that is many times that of most of his peers.  He has fully repaid those who lent him money.  But more importantly, he has invested back in the community that supported him.  After building his parents a brick home (a luxury they could have never dreamed of), he has installed a number of wells to bring safe and clean drinking water to the whole village.  Others in the village have relied on him to make similar loans as those he received.

Tanzanian children

Amani’s story isn’t an anomaly, but it’s not the norm either.  Education is the key to a more prosperous future in every underdeveloped country, but with such limited resources, most families simply cannot unlock their kid’s potential.  Fortunately, more and more families are realizing that investing in their kid’s education is a way to secure their own future.  This is a paradigm shift from the traditional approach, where it is accepted that kids would be working in the field as soon as they are able.  But once the shift has occurred, the impacts will be felt for generations to come.  You can be assured of one thing – Amani will be sending his daughter to school, all the way through university.

Want to contribute to education on your next trip to Tanzania?  Consider volunteer programs like African Impact and Cross Cultural Solutions, or support local education NGOs like Rhotia Valley and IEFT.


Industry Bloggin’

During our Northern Circuit Safari, we had the opportunity to visit a cool tented camp lodge that is doing amazing work with the children of their local community.  Check out the story I wrote about it for World Nomads here, or copied below:

Tanzania – Two Hills, One Goal

Tented camps are my favorite.  They offer a uniquely intimate interaction with your surroundings, while also providing the necessary amenities of any standard (and sometimes luxury) hotel.  Only a piece of canvas and screen separate you and the great outdoors (which in Africa may mean wild and dangerous animals).  I’ve had the opportunity to visit nearly a dozen such camps during my travels on on this continent, and I’ve seen some pretty impressive eco-initiatives associated with these properties.  But nothing impressed me more than my final tented camp experience, the first to use a community development project as the basis for their tented lodge.

Rhotia Valley is a property perched atop two adjacent hills, overlooking the rural village of Rhotia, along Tanzania’s famed Northern Safari Circuit.  On one hill sits the Rhotia Valley Children’s Home, a safe home and school for local children in need.  Due to a very high rate of HIV/AIDS in the region, many children are orphans, and along with issues such as malnourishment and family breakdown, the Children’s Home has become a key piece of the village’s social support network.

Rhotia Valley Children's Home

Atop the second hill is the Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, an eco-focused property with 15 spacious tents.  Environmental initiatives abound – from solar thermal and photo-voltaic installations to an organic garden providing most of the veggies for the on-site restaurant.  Most importantly though, the lodge exists primarily as a funding mechanism for the Children’s Home, with a minimum of 20% of lodge revenues going towards operating costs for the home.

Lodge organic garden

What impressed me the most about Rhotia Valley is that the owners set out to create a community development project, with a tourism component.  Most of the time, the opposite is true.  As a result, the focus on all aspects of Rhotia Valley’s operation are geared toward the Children’s Home and the local community.  It is the community’s support for the project that has made it a success.  Children chosen to stay at the Home – those most in need – are determined by the community council and village elders.  All staff for operations on both hills come from the surrounding communities, and all of the children boarded at the school are only from Rhotia.  Village elders participate on the board of the Children’s home, and the owners are actively engaged in community discussions and decisions.  In their words: Our aim is to give support to the people – and especially the children – of the Rhotia area – in such a way that the entire village is committed and the villagers feel part of the project and embrace it.  Two Hills, One Goal.

Heading to the Serengeti?

You can be part of the Rhotia project – guests to the lodge are encouraged to interact with the community on guided walks, as well as visit or volunteer in the Children’s Home.  Even a night’s stay at the lodge provides direct financial benefits to the children.  Learn more at www.rhotiavalley.com.


Industry Bloggin’

There are thousands of porters that work on Mt. Kilimanjaro, and many of them work in less-than-ideal conditions.  While in the region, we had the opportunity to meet with Karen Valenti, a woman doing amazing work to help improve porter conditions on Kili.  I wrote a World Nomads blog post on the subject, which can be found here, or copied below.

Kilimanjaro Porters – Helping Them Help You Up The Mountain

I’ve never had anybody carry my stuff for me before.

At least, not on a trekking trip.  And to be honest, I was a little bit uncomfortable about it.  See, I consider myself a fairly avid backcountry hiker, spending many weekends each summer in the Colorado wilderness.  The thought of hiring someone to carry my food, tent, clothes, sleeping bag, etc, just seems like cheating.  So, when my wife and I arrived at the Machame trailhead of Mt Kilimanjaro, I was appalled to find 12 people there to assist us up the mountain!  As it turns out, there is no way we would have made it up Kili without them (at least, not in 5 days), and I have come to highly respect Kilimanjaro porters and the often dire working conditions they face every time they set foot on the mountain.

Kili porters working too hard

“My team, they are not just porters, they are mountaineers,” boasts my guide, Goodluck (yes, that is his real name).  And he’s right – these guys are heaving heavy, awkward-shaped, poorly packaged gear up some of the most challenging non-technical trekking routes on the planet.  And, they are doing it in almost any weather condition, often with very poor equipment (I saw more remnants of old shoes and boots on the trail than I care to remember).  These guys have to be tough, but too often on Kili, they are working harder than they should be.

Why are things so rough for porters?

They are the low link on the Kilimanjaro food chain, there is lots of competition for work (over 15,000 porters work on the mountain!), and their low level of education and training has kept them from having a voice.  Here are a few of their most common challenges:

  • Climbing companies sometimes fail to pay their porters on time, sufficiently, or at all
  • Some porters are not provided with appropriate mountain gear, from clothing to footwear to tents
  • Some porters are given insufficient food – as little as 1 meal per day
  • Some porters are made to carry well over the maximum weight of 25kg (a regulation set by the park, but often ignored by the climbing companies)
  • Some guides (often former porters themselves) require a bribe to be chosen to work
  • Some guides fail to distribute guest tips fairly, keeping more than their own share

Fortunately, the situation is improving significantly, thanks largely to the work of Karen Valenti and the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Program (KPAP), a Tanzanian NGO.  Created by the International Mountain Explorers Connection in 2003, KPAP has been fighting for porters rights and welfare through grassroots activism, education, research, and monitoring.  The organization works directly with porters to provide complimentary gear rental, while also working with the climbing companies to ensure they are following ethical guidelines for porter treatment established by KPAP.   Karen, KPAP’s director, is a passionate individual who spends most of her time at Kili trailheads interviewing and surveying porters and climbers to ensure standards are being met.  Climbing companies who have demonstrated their adherence to KPAP standards are granted “partner” status – a label that has become a must-have for any responsible travel providers running trips to Kili.

Kili porters

Interested in climbing Kilimanjaro?

Your travel choices have the power to make a positive impact.  Here’s what you can do to ensure your porters are treated fairly:

  • If your favorite tour operator is not on the list (and they run trips to Kilimanjaro), call them up and ask them why they have not joined, and when they plan to
  • Be sure to tip well (plan it into your trip budget), and be sure to tip directly to the porters

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