THE INKA PORTER PROJECT

As of 27 July 2005, the Inka Porter Project (Porteadores Inka Ñan) is no
longer operational but much of the information on our website such as the
environmental guidelines for trekkers and porter and animal driver welfare guidelines remains relevant. 

The Inka Porter Project was dedicated to improving working conditions of all porters and animal drivers (arrieros) in Peru and the Andes.  We campaigned to raise awareness of better environmental practice and our projects were based on porters' own input, which helped them build a more powerful self-image through participating in practical health and environmental projects.

 The Inka Porter Project’s director, Louise Norton, will continue
as the International Porter Protection Group representative (www.ippg.net),
together with a porter representative.  IPP’s current projects with
communities have Peruvian staff in place and will carry on until completion.
For any queries about the Inka Porter Project, Louise Norton can still be
contacted by email for the foreseeable future: louise@peruweb.org

The situation in Peru has started to change since IPP started back in 2002,
although many issues with porter welfare and environmental degradation still
exist. Central and local Peruvian government offices are beginning to take
porter issues more seriously and changes in regulations mean that many more
tourists now book their treks from abroad. There is a new Federation to
represent porters and, along with the advent of local elections, the porter
issue in Cusco has again become very politicized. The Inka Porter Project
does not have the staff resources to deal with porter politics, and this is
a key factor in our decision to close.

Whilst we are sad to close, we are very proud of the work that
we have achieved here including responsible trekking and
environmental guidelines, an informative website, international press and
guidebook coverage, a quarterly newsletter, 400 porters trained in first
aid, English teaching programmes and environmental and building projects
with local communities. We would like to thank our friends in the industry and the many volunteers who have given their very best and supported themselves financially during their time at the project.

Yours sincerely

The Inka Porter Project team