Mori: Tourism, Porters, and Kilimanjaro

We hiked up to the entrance of Kilimanjaro National Park today. It was a bit of a hike up from the hotel we started at to the park gates. It wasn’t so far as it was steep and a bit of a rough path. All long the way the children were shouting “Hellos” and “Jambos.” It was a very scenic trip thought I could definitely feel the altitude. Our guide kept telling us “Pole, pole!” We were eager to get up to the views.

Once we made it to the park and through the gate, I saw a crowd of men standing at the far end of the park. Our guide said that the men that were waiting were porters that were waiting for new groups of would-be climbers to come through the park so they could have work. Some of them wait several days before they get a job. Once they are hired they are gone for at least five days. Ideally the climb should take seven to be as safe as possible for the climbers and staff. I was amazed to see the way the majority of these men are dressed. T-shirts and jeans with second hand tennis shoes or sandals with a ball cap were the normal outfit. I saw no sign of appropriate footwear or warmer clothes as it is below freezing at tow of the last stops on the way to the summit. The bags they were carrying for the most part were sports duffels. They would put the handles over their shoulders like back pack straps. Even the luggage was substandard. These men were climbing without adequate gear. The only thing that is a bit redeeming is that on the Marangu side, there is a paved path up to one of the mid range huts/overnight camps. It is used by the porters instead of the mountain path. It is also used by emergency vehicles in the event a climber is injured or requires immediate evacuation. He or she can be brought down to the summit fairly quickly.

The porters are limited to the amount of weight they can carry. On their way through the gate their loads are weighed. The porters are only allowed to carry a specific weight limit (50 kg?). The guidelines were established to protect the porters. Many people were willing to pay extra for the porters to carry additional weight reducing the cost of additional porters. Many of them were being injured this way. After several years of hauling bags that were too heavy, they incurred back injuries that prevent them from working anymore in other labor. Many porters have been injured working on the mountain. They make good wages for a few years then they are crippled for the remainder of their lives. The increased income they made by carrying extra weight becomes pointless.

The park is on the side of the mountain known as Marangu. The Marangu route is known as the Coca-Cola route because of the number of tourists that go up to the summit that way. Machingas sell souvenirs to tourists. There are many small eateries and guest houses just outside of the gate as well. I met several girls who made a summit attempt and the one thing they mentioned several times was how crowded the route up was.

There is a definite influx of tourists’ dollars into the community and there is money to be made for anyone who is willing to work with the tourists in pre or post trip services as well as those who work on the hike up and back. As challenging as it is to see what seems like the exploitations of locals, the communities around the area are dependent on tourists for money, labor and the tax revenue they generate. Tourists need the services and the communities need the labor. Without the cash generated many of the individuals who run small businesses would be subsistence farmers or own small shops eking out a living selling goods to their surrounding community.

The porter situation seems like a bit of the day laborer set-up in some area of the states before all of the immigration reforms and crack downs. Workers would wait in a public place, gas station or restaurant, for people to come through and hire them for the day for yard work or construction. At least in the case of the porters, there is a bit of a protection system set-up.