PUSHPA RAJ ACHARYA

Having spent the last two decades working as a porter, 48-year-old Nurpu Tamang, a local of Langtang-7 in Rasuwa, was displaced from the popular tourist destination after the devastating earthquake of April 25. Of the many feats under his belt, Tamang — currently sheltered at Yellow Gumba, Swayambhu — claims to have crossed the glaciated Tilman Pass three times.

However, lacking a porter’s licence, he is unable to capitalise on his experience of having successfully crossed the pass, which is one of the most remote and difficult passes of the Great Himalaya Trail.

All that might soon change as Tamang has now enrolled for a porter cum guide training at Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM). The training that is being disseminated by the government-owned NATHM started from today and will conclude after two weeks. After completing the training, Tamang will get a licence of a porter guide. Acquiring the licence will qualify him to work directly with trekking agencies and he won’t be limited to working with middlemen.

The training has been made possible due to the initiative of Fulbright fellows in Nepal. They raised the required funds from among their members and well wishers for the skill development training of 60 displaced people like Tamang, who hail from Langtang and nearby localities to upgrade their living standards.

Among the 60 individuals, 31 have enrolled for trekking guide training and 29 for porter cum guide training at NATHM, according to Krishna Kharel, head of Department of Travel and Research at NATHM. “To take trekking guide course, a candidate must have acquired school leaving certificate (SLC) or the candidate should have worked as a licensed porter cum guide for at least two years.”

Kartok Lama, 30, is another trainee benefitting from the programme at NATHM and has enrolled for the training of trekking guide. Backed with her experience of working as a social mobiliser with local non-governmental offices in Langtang earlier, she is gearing to do her bit for the revival of tourism in the devastated Langtang region.

“I will dedicate all my time and energy for the development of tourism in Langtang after returning,” she declared.

Those who have been displaced from Langtang are planning to return by the end of September, when the tourist season peaks. They are hoping the damaged roads and trails in the Langtang region will have been repaired by then.

Fulbright fellows in Nepal and a volunteer group Rasuwa Relief arranged the funds for transportation cost and tuition fees for the trainees. NATHM will provide the two-week long porter cum guide training and five-week course for trekking guides.

The one sticking point is that there are only three female participants in these courses.

“Normally, women are more interested in courses related to housekeeping, so that they can get jobs in hotels of the popular Langtang area,” said Upasana Khadka, one of the Fulbright scholars who recently graduated from Harvard University. She added that they could not make the arrangements for such trainings due to budgetary constraints.

About half of the total 200 displaced people are currently sheltered in Yellow Gumba camp, which has been arranged by Temba Lama, a local trekking businessman.

Chudamani Sharma Kattel, executive director of NATHM, is hoping that those who have enrolled for the special training courses will get a chance to work with trekking agencies after receiving the licence. “Having the licence will definitely increase their pay scale and other security schemes allied with their jobs.”

Porter cum guide is a new concept and there are currently 50 individuals who have acquired the licence. Meanwhile, there are 15,000 licensed trekking guides, as per Ramesh Dhamala, president of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal. 

Published on: 19 August 2015 | The Himalayan Times