PROBLEM

Every year, 30,000 people from all over the world climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. You may have seen beautiful photos online from the 19,400 ft high summit.

What isn't talked about nearly as much is the 60,000 porters who make it possible.

They carry up to 45 pounds with items such as camping gear, hiking gear, food, and even portable bathrooms. These porters also carry most of the load on their heads and climb steep paths, doing this for 6 to 8 hours in a typical day! Needless to say, porters are an incredibly powerful resource when climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. 

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Carrying loads on the head impacts something called cervical lordosis or natural curvature of the cervical spine. Carrying large loads on the head causes a massive strain on a porter’s spine, negatively affecting cervical lordosis and a spine’s curvature and alignment. These loads can result in the flattening or even the reversal of cervical lordosis, or in other words, leads to hunchback. It can accelerate the cervical spine degenerative process and leave a person extremely prone to debilitating injuries and pain early in their life. That is the main problem and the problem that needs to be fixed.

Despite their arduous and dangerous job, many of them cannot afford to pay for things outside of their life. For example, upskilling, safe gear, and education for their kids are not easily attainable. A normal porter gets paid only $10/day while on a climb. With around 100 days on the mountain per year, they make only a measly $1000 per year from carrying heavy cargo up the slopes. Therein lies the second problem.

Our first two initiatives will be creating a harness and upskilling. See the Solution page for more details.