BEYOND THE PERSONAL STORY

The Porter Voice Collective goes beyond personal testimony. Each season will weave in dedicated deep-dive segments that explore the systemic issues shaping the lives of mountain tourism workers — from wage inequality and lack of certification access to safety, health, and cultural barriers on the trail. We will invite experts who are rarely given a platform in mainstream tourism conversations: local advocates, community organisers, grassroots NGO workers, legal voices, and the porters and guides themselves who have become experts in their own right through years of lived experience. Alongside these deep dives, our traveler education segments will speak directly to the trekking public — helping them understand the human realities behind the journeys they take, make more informed choices about who they hire and how they travel, and become active advocates for equity in the places they visit. Our goal is not just to tell these stories, but to build the kind of informed, engaged audience that creates real pressure for change — in boardrooms, in booking decisions, and on the trail itself.

The Porter Voices Podcast is a production of the Porter Voice Collective (PVC), an initiative committed to advancing workforce equity for mountain tourism workers across the globe.

OUR FIRST SEASON - FEMALE TREKKING GUIDES OF NEPAL

We launch with the voices closest to us.

In partnership with Himalayan Women Trail Leaders (HWTL) — an initiative dedicated to fostering a generation of female trekking guides skilled to lead on any section of the 1,700 km commercial high routes of the Great Himalaya Trail — our first season turns the microphone over to the women who are redefining what leadership looks like in the Himalayas. In their own words, in Nepali and English, they share the stories, struggles, and strengths that define their lives on and off the trail.

This is where the conversation starts. It will not end here.

WHY IT MATTERS

Nepal's trekking industry is built on the backs of its guides — yet fewer than 10% of certified trekking guides in Nepal are women. The barriers are deep and systemic: unequal pay, limited access to certification and training, harassment on the trail, cultural pressure at home, and an industry infrastructure that was designed by men, for men. Female guides navigate all of this while delivering the same — and often greater — level of skill, care, and cultural knowledge as their male counterparts. Their contributions are essential. Their voices are largely absent from the conversation.

Gender inequity in mountain tourism is not just a Nepal problem. Across the trekking regions of Peru and Tanzania, the same patterns repeat — women doing the hardest work for the least recognition, the least pay, and the least protection. The consequences are not only personal. When women are pushed out of or never welcomed into the guiding profession, entire communities lose out on the economic independence, leadership, and generational change that female guides bring with them.

These are not abstract statistics. They are the lived reality of real women — and they deserve to be heard in their own words.

What makes The Porter Voice Collective unique is the bridge we build between lived experience and evidence. PVC Board Member and researcher Sophie Llenos brings academic rigour to the heart of this work. The reels below bring that research to life, putting faces and voices to the statistics and revealing the human reality behind the numbers. Together, the data and the stories make an undeniable case for change. These stories — and the evidence behind them — are why The Porter Voice Collective exists. And they are why we believe this podcast is not just timely. It is necessary.

Call for Female Trekking Guides to Join The Porter Voices Podcast

Are you a female trekking guide in Nepal with a story to share?

The Porter Voice Collective is seeking female trekking guides to be featured on The Porter Voices Podcast to share their lived experiences working in mountain tourism.

Participate by:

• Joining a recorded interview in person or remotely via Zoom

• Contributing to a themed discussion/speaker panel episode via Zoom

• Submitting a voice note/audio recording as responses to our theme-based questionnaires - you can learn more about the Recorded Voice Note Interview via this document.

We are especially interested in stories about:

• Breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry

• Challenges and triumphs in guiding

• Leadership, representation, and equity in tourism

• Personal journeys and lived experiences

Help us amplify the voices of women guides and inspire change in the trekking industry. Interested in participating? Email us - theportervoice@gmail.com

SUPPORT US

The Porter Voice Collective is currently in the development phase, and we are looking for financial sponsors, partners, and donors who share our belief that the people who carry the weight of mountain tourism deserve to have their voices heard. This podcast is being built by a dedicated group of volunteers who believe deeply in this cause — people who are giving their time, skills, and energy because they know these stories matter and that telling them will takes a community of supporters behind them.

This is an independent, community-rooted initiative — and like the guides and porters we feature, we are doing extraordinary work with limited resources. Your support will directly fund recording equipment, translation, production, and the outreach needed to reach guides and porters in remote communities across Nepal, Peru, and Tanzania. Whether you are a company, a foundation, an individual who loves the mountains, or an organization committed to workforce equity and gender justice, there is a place for you in this project.

We are not just making a podcast — we are building an archive, an advocacy tool, and a platform for voices that the tourism industry has long overlooked. If you believe those voices matter, we would love to have you alongside us. You can support our work in several ways — through a sponsorship or partnership conversation via email: theportervoice@gmail.com, or by making a direct donation to the Porter Voice Collective via the DONATE NOW button below. Every contribution, large or small, helps us take one more step up the mountain.