Supporting our Porters

Porters serve a vital role in your trip to Tanzania. These men and women work hard to ensure an easy, comfortable and enjoyable experience for you. Unfortunately, throughout history porters have not always received the compensation, safe working environment and gratitude that is beyond deserved. Kopa Tours is dedicated to working with the Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society to help correct this wrong.

Off the Mountain

The Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society aims to improve porters’ lives both on and off the mountain. The society assists porters with financial management. After a trek has been completed, the tips are counted, divided equally amongst all porters and then placed into their personal bank account that the society assisted in opening. This ensures a secured method of storage for their finances and allows direct, safe access to their salary as well. The Porters society also assists porters with financing English classes if they wish. English classes open up many opportunities to our porters. Through these English classes, many porters can advance their careers by becoming chefs, assistant guides and eventually head guides. Outside of financial guidance, the society also educates porters on how to live a healthy, safe lifestyle through personal health education courses. These courses provide education on how to protect themselves from diseases such as Malaria and HIV/AIDS.

On the Mountain

Health and safety are of utmost importance for the porters. As porters are key to your climbing success and are in charge of carrying the bulk of the weight up the mountain, it is imperative that they are well looked after. We require that all your baggage be at or below 30 lbs. This is for the safety of our porters, so that they do not overexert themselves on top of their already physically demanding job. In addition, our porters sleep in the same tents as you, and are provided the same nutritious meals alongside you. Sleep and sufficient food is essential while spending days on end on the mountain. When porters are climbing, the Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society ensures that the porters are going up the mountain in proper gear. This means warm clothes, climbing shoes, hats, sleeping bags etc. are provided. While on the job, the society secures the safety of thousands of porters each and every day as they make another journey up the beautiful Mount Kilimanjaro.

Our porters have a passion in working in tourism, and Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society helps them thrive safely both within their careers in tourism and their lives outside of work.