Kilimanjaro Porter Project

Project Overview 

In 2004, following a special fund raising Kilimanjaro climb, Exodus Travels set up a project, in conjunction with our long term operational partners, The Africa Walking Company, creating a rainy season school for porters and guides. Generally the traditional rural incomes in this area are complemented with seasonal employment as porters and guides. However, outside of these seasons, during the long (April-June) and short rains (November), employment opportunities are limited. We therefore created three schools to teach English to the porters during these times.  Better language skills, environmental awareness and customer service skills, thereby increasing their employment opportunities as well as the service they provide trekkers.

In 2010 Exodus teamed up with the Kilimanjaro Guide Scholarship Foundation (KGSF) to provide sponsorships for “rainy season” courses for selected guides to further their education on a three-month scholarship during the long rains.  This special course has been created in in conjunction with the Bridge Institute of Business Studies in Arusha, Tanzania.  It was designed for guides and porters to enable them to improve their future career prospects.  The scholarship allows recipients to continue working during the remainder of the year and the course consists of four sections: tour operations and administration, social anthropology and history, tourism geography, and wildlife knowledge. Read more about KGSF online. 

Read more about it on this article from 2015: Kilimanjaro Porter Project 2015

Every year we sponsor porters and/or guides via scholarships on various courses at the Bridge Institute of Business Studies in Arusha, Mweka College of African Wildlife Management and other local institutions, including a growing number of female porters and assistant guides. To date this support has been given to over 800 porters and guides taking part in various courses from English classes to guide certification classes and we aim to continue to support, via the Exodus Travels Foundation, through education scholarships, many of the people working on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Exodus Travels is also a member of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project, KPAP (https://kiliporters.org/), which focuses on improving working conditions for porters on Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Exodus adheres to KPAP’s guidelines but also supports the organisation’s efforts through sponsoring educational activities for the porters. In 2019 Exodus, via the Exodus Travels Foundation plans to sponsor a first aid course for porters organised by KPAP. 

 

How You Can Help

Visit
Come on any of Exodus’ Kilimanjaro treks and you will be supporting better wages and conditions for porters and guides on the mountain.
Exodus adheres to the guidelines for proper porter treatment and is monitored by KPAP.

Donate
If you would like to donate money towards the Exodus Travels Foundation Porter Project in the Kilimanjaro area, or any of our other projects, please email [email protected] and we will send you details on how to make a donation.