In Peru, porters have different problems depending on whether
they work in Huaraz, Cusco or the jungle or whether they work directly for tourists or
through an agency.
Their key concerns are:
Lack of appropriate
equipment
On mountain
trails, including the Inka Trail, porters are exposed to the
elements and often sleep in damp clothes in tents that do not have
integral floors.
Sometimes they are not provided with tents at all. Consequently, they
sleep on wet ground and work with a soggy blanket against their backs as a barrier between them and
the uncomfortable loads that they carry. Many do not have enough light to perform their functions
safely, often heading down the track in the dark with a candle in a plastic bottle.
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Unsafe carrying
practices
Porters traditionally carry their loads
using ropes and woven blankets. While this is fine for the relatively short
trip from the
potato field to the house, it is not suitable for 4 days of sustained walking.
Consequently, many suffer from both acute and chronic circulatory and muscular problems.
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Inadequate food
provision
Despite their strenuous work, some porters are only given
basic food such as a kilo of rice to last one person for 4 days.
Others eat what the tourists leave – which may be sufficient
but, given a large hungry group, may not be enough.
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Transport problems
There are often difficulties in the
provision of public transport services for porters returning from the
Inka Trail. This has partly
been alleviated by a new, specially designed porter train carriage. However, with
tourist numbers increasing on the Inka Trail, it is likely that there will be
more problems with porter transport in the future.
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Unreasonable costs for
porters
A fee is levied every time a porter works the Inka Trail to Machu Picchu. This goes to
the National Institute of Culture and is intended to be used to
alleviate the negative
environmental effects of porters hiking the trail.
Both local residents
and porters feel that they
are not benefiting from this fee. Porters in particular want to know where this money
goes.
In addition, many agencies expect porters to
pay for their transport to the head of the trail and the return
journey home, a cost that can reduce their income by more than 20%. The
Porters' Law (Peruvian
Law number 27607) states that the agency should pay for the
porter to get to the head of the trail.
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Environmental
impact
Porters are concerned by the lack of
sanitation and water provision on the trail. The washing up is done outside and in
streams, contributing to environmental damage.
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Excessive loads
Despite weighing stations and
clear guidelines in the legislation (20kg for adult male porters,
plus an additional 5kg for their own possessions and 15kg for
adolescent and female porters), porters often carry loads that are too heavy – more
effective checks are needed.
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Lack of health care
Porters say most agencies do not allow them access to the medical kit when they are injured.
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Lack of job
security
There is huge unemployment in
Peru, more porters than jobs and it is therefore difficult for them to
enjoy job security and employment rights.
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Lack of training
Porters want to be recognized as providing a professional service
– they feel that currently anybody could stand at the trailhead and get a job, which
is a risk to tourists and degrades their work. Few agencies
currently offer their porters any form of training.
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A fair deal
As a tourist, it is very
difficult to judge between the different agencies and their attitude to the environment
and their employees. The cheaper the trek, the less likely it is
that the agency really looks after its porters.
