A campaign by Miguel Angel Gongora Meza · #PorterLivesMatter
Porter Lives Matter
Porter Lives Matter is a campaign for fair pay, ethical loads and dignified working conditions for the porters who carry every trek to Machu Picchu, Kilimanjaro, Everest and K2.
It was started by Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, a former Inca Trail porter who has watched porters being mistreated for 30 years, to make travellers and tour operators see the people carrying the load, and to change how they are treated.
What is Porter Lives Matter?
Porter Lives Matter is an awareness campaign that asks travellers and tour operators to treat porters as professionals: paid fairly, carrying ethical loads of 20 to 25 kg, sleeping in a tent and eating a real meal.
Porters carry the tents, kitchens, food and comforts that make a trek possible. On the world's most famous routes, too many of them still carry more than they should, sleep on the ground or under tarps, and walk in poor shoes with makeshift packs, often for companies that market themselves as sustainable.
The campaign names practices, not companies. Its goal is simple: that operators actually improve porters' lives, and that travellers know how to choose the ones that do.
Where does Porter Lives Matter work?
On four of the world's great trekking routes: the Inca Trail, Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp and K2. Four operators, one on each mountain, lead the campaign together.
Evolution Treks Peru
Peru · Inca Trail
Founder of the campaign. Women porters on every trek since 2017, ethical loads of 20 to 25 kg and the same tents as clients.
Nepal · Everest Base Camp
A Kathmandu operator that insures all its guides, porters and support staff, and gives part of every trip to the Good Karma Foundation Nepal.
Pakistan · K2 Base Camp
Based in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, with more than 10 years leading treks to K2 Base Camp, Gondogoro La and the Karakoram.
The Northside Adventures
Tanzania · Kilimanjaro
A Tanzanian operator founded to empower women in need and lift up families across Africa.
Why did Miguel start the campaign?
Because he was a porter: Miguel carried loads on the Inca Trail before he ever guided on it, and he has seen the same abuses repeated for 30 years.
To find out whether the problem was only Peruvian, he hiked Kilimanjaro, the K2 Base Camp trek and Everest Base Camp as a hiker, looking for evidence. He found the same pattern on every mountain: heavy loads, low pay and porters left without proper shelter.
In 2026, the deaths of a porter and a horseman on the routes to Machu Picchu made the campaign urgent.
In memory of Gabriel Ríos Mamani
Gabriel, 49, was found dead at a campsite near Warmiwañusqa, Dead Woman's Pass, in August 2026, during the storm that closed the Inca Trail that week. The authorities have not published a cause. Porter Lives Matter is for him, and for every porter still on the trail.
What is the Porter Pledge?
Seven commitments every operator in the campaign signs and publishes, starting on its next trip. Travellers can ask any company: have you signed the Porter Pledge?
1Fair, equal pay
Every porter, woman or man, paid the same fair rate for the same work, and paid on time.
2Ethical loads
No porter carrying more than an ethical load of 20 to 25 kg. Weak government policy makes the official limit hard to meet on the Inca Trail, so we ask operators to commit to this range, weigh honestly and hide nothing in a second bag.
3A tent, a bed and a meal
Every porter gets a tent out of the rain, a sleeping bag and pad, and the same food as the hikers.
4Women on equal terms
Women hired as porters and trained as guides, with the same pay and respect as men.
5Lighter gear, honest perks
Heavy old-fashioned equipment replaced by lightweight gear, and every comfort extra carried by extra, fairly paid porters, never by overloading the ones already there.
6Transparency
Operators who publish what their porters earn and carry, so travellers can compare.
7Insurance and rescue
Every porter insured, with a plan to evacuate them if they are hurt or fall ill on the trail.
Founding operators: Evolution Treks Peru (Peru), Good Karma Trekking (Nepal), Skardu Trekkers (Pakistan) and The Northside Adventures (Tanzania).
Why do heavy perks hurt porters?
Every comfort on a trek has to be carried by someone, and when operators add perks without adding porters, the extra weight lands on the backs of the porters already there.
Warm wash buckets, portable toilets, heavy tables and old-fashioned canvas tents all add kilos. Lightweight, minimalist tents, tables and seats cut those kilos without making the trek worse. When a comfort is worth offering, it should come with extra porters, paid fairly, carrying ethical loads, and priced honestly.
How can travellers help porters?
Ask the right questions before you book, and notice what happens on the trail.
Ask your operator: 7 questions before you book any trek
- What does a porter earn per trip, and do women earn the same?
- How much does each porter carry, and is the load weighed honestly?
- Where do porters sleep, and what do they eat?
- Do porters have framed backpacks and proper cold-weather gear?
- Are porters insured, and what happens if one is hurt?
- Do you hire women as porters and guides?
- Have you signed the Porter Pledge?
A good operator answers with numbers. "They are fine" is not an answer.
On the trail:
- Watch the weigh-in at KM 82 and notice which porters carry sacks instead of framed backpacks.
- Think twice about comfort extras. A wash bucket or a portable toilet is carried up 1,200 metres of stone steps by someone.
- Tip the crew fairly and hand the tip to the porters directly.
- Share what you saw. Reviews that mention porter treatment change how operators behave.
Read Miguel's full guide: how to choose an Inca Trail operator that treats porters fairly
How does Evolution Treks Peru put this into practice?
The campaign started inside Miguel's own company: Evolution Treks Peru, a worker-owned company in Cusco, runs every trek by these rules.
450 soles
per trip for every porter, women and men equally
Since 2017
women porters on every group
3 of the first women porters
are now lead guides
80%
of our lead guides are women (2026)
USD 450
per ergonomic framed backpack for each porter
Same tents and pads
as our hikers, for every porter
How can you join Porter Lives Matter?
Share it, ask the questions, and bring the conversation to your audience.
- Share this page and use #PorterLivesMatter when you post about your trek.
- Wear the Porter Lives Matter T-shirt on the trail. It is sold in Peru, Nepal, Pakistan and Tanzania, and the money from each country's sales buys gear for that country's porters. [T-shirt launch details and link]
- Journalists, podcasts and event organisers: invite Miguel to speak about porter rights, ethical trekking and responsible tourism.
- Tour operators: sign the Porter Pledge and join the founding operators from Peru, Nepal, Pakistan and Tanzania. Message Miguel on WhatsApp. We also share what works on lighter gear, fair pay and hiring women porters.
Questions about Porter Lives Matter
Is Porter Lives Matter against a specific company?
No. The campaign names practices, not companies. It asks every operator, including ours, to meet the same standards and to be open about them.
Is Porter Lives Matter only about Peru?
No. It started on the Inca Trail, but Miguel found the same problems on Kilimanjaro, the Everest Base Camp trek and the K2 Base Camp trek. The campaign now runs in Peru, Nepal, Pakistan and Tanzania, and it is for porters and sherpas on every trekking route.
How can I check if an operator treats porters fairly?
Ask what a porter earns per trip and whether women earn the same, where porters sleep, what they eat and what they carry. A good operator answers with numbers. See Miguel's guide to ethical Inca Trail operators.
Who started Porter Lives Matter?
Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, who started as an Inca Trail porter in 1996, became a Cusco guide in 1998 and co-founded Evolution Treks Peru, the first company to hire women porters on the Inca Trail.
Who is behind the campaign today?
Four trekking operators, one on each mountain: Evolution Treks Peru on the Inca Trail, Good Karma Trekking in Nepal, Skardu Trekkers in Pakistan and The Northside Adventures in Tanzania. Each runs the campaign in its own country and signs the same Porter Pledge.
By Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, former Inca Trail porter and co-founder of Evolution Treks Peru · Updated November 2026