Sustainable and Responsible Tourism
We employ local staff, use locally-owned organisations and hotels and buy as many resources locally as possible in the countries we visit. We make exceptions only when we are forced to do so; perhaps where quality might suffer because something cannot be bought locally or if by buying it we would strain or divert resources away from local people. For example, we import leading-brand tents for our Kilimanjaro expeditions and we supplement high-altitude rations on our 8,000m peak trips.
In Nepal, for example, our partner organisation exemplifies our ethos of Sustainability and Responsibility and carries it further than we would be able to alone. It has a long tradition of intimately looking-after the welfare of all locally employed staff and their families. In Africa, we recognise the often poor conditions endured by the porters on Kilimanjaro. We seek to improve these by working with our local provider to set an example, so that others might emulate what we consider best practice. Since 2008 we have given away fleeces and waterproof jackets to every porter that has worked for us, so they can wear these whenever and whoever they work for in the future.
We have an enduring ethic of paying a fair price for everything, appropriate to the local economy. We do not seek to leverage wages, but to pay a fair rate acceptable to the local communities within which we work and upon whose goodwill we rely.
We try to minimise our impact on the physical environment, leading by example with our practices. On Mera Peak, we use “Clean Mountain Cans” (CMCs) for use at high camp to remove human waste. This is something that we hope others will notice and replicate.
These are the hallmarks of ‘Sustainable and Responsible Tourism’ and whilst we don’t have a badge, or try to win prizes, it is something we have practised since our inception.
Mount Ararat Clean Up - September 2023
Our June 2023 trek team commented on the amount of waste being left by other groups on Mount Ararat, so we organised a clean up. "What was disappointing was the amount of rubbish just left littering the camp and mountain in general by other climbing groups - NOT JAGGED GLOBE! JG made sure all litter was taken off the mountain which was great."
In September, together with our local ground operator, we have funded the removal of waste from camps on the mountain.
Sherpa Aid UK - Patron Alan Hinkes OBE
In spring 2014 an ice cliff fell from a hanging glacier
on the West Shoulder of Everest; it killed 16 Sherpas
climbing the Khumbu Icefall. One of those Sherpas
was Pasang Karma who was working for Jagged
Globe at the time. Alongside Pasang, 6 other
members of the Jagged Globe Sherpa team were
injured. Luckily, none were injured seriously
although one, Dawa Tashi Sherpa, was kept in
hospital for a few weeks with a broken shoulder
blade and wrist.
Pasang Karma left behind his wife, Kandi Sherpa, and his three children; Pasang Geljen (14), Furngima (8) and Mingma Tenji (2½). As soon as I heard of the tragedy, I travelled to Kathmandu and on to Bupsa, Pasang’s home village a day’s walk below Lukla. There, I met Kandi and Pasang Karma’s children and I was able to give them some money for their immediate needs. More importantly, I undertook to ensure that, whatever else, his children would have their future education taken care of by us. Since then, my aim remains that we keep his family in the same financial position they would have been in had Pasang been here to provide for them. Among other things, a good education for his children was Pasang’s ambition and the reason he took on the risks and challenges of Everest.
To help Kandi and her children, or the families of any other people hurt whilst working in the mountains in the future, we have set up Sherpa Aid UK (as being the best means of channelling money to them). 100% of the money donated to Sherpa Aid UK will go to support mountain workers and their families who find themselves in need because of illness, accident or injury. Jagged Globe itself will be an annual donor in order to fulfil our pledge to Pasang Karma’s family.
We are privileged that Alan Hinkes OBE has agreed to be Patron of Sherpa Aid UK. If you would like to serve as a trustee then please contact me at the Jagged Globe office. If you would like to donate to Sherpa Aid UK, knowing that all of your money will be sent to the families who need help, then please donate via our Go Fund Me page or contact us for our bank details.
Simon Lowe – Chairman and Trustee
Sherpa Aid UK
Update: November 2023
The following donations have been made 2019 - 2023:
7 November 2023. Donation to Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) for their appeal in response to the recent earthquake. US$1000
27 July 2023. Donation to family of Pemba Tenzing Sherpa. US$2500
27 July 2023. Donation to family of Lhakpa Rita Sherpa. US$2500
27 July 2023. Donation to family of Dachhiree Sherpa. US$2500
27 July 2023. Donation to family of Ang Dawa. US$2300
21 March 2023. Donation to Peruvian guide with brain injury. US$1600
13 July 2022. Donation to family of Ang Dawa. US$2300
17 March 2022. Donation to Peruvian guide with brain injury. US$2500
23 December 2021. Donation to Yangdi Sherpa. US$1000
16 December 2021. Donation to Morocco agent. £200
16 August 2021. Donation to family of Ang Dawa. US$2300
15 May 2021. Donation to Yangdi Sherpa. US$500
19 April 2021. Donation to Morocco agent. £200
7 July 2020. Donation to Ecuadorian Guide. US$300
28 July 2020. Donation to two Ecuadorian Guides. US$400
3 July 2020. Donation to family of Ang Dawa. US$2300
26 June 2020. Donation to Sherpa Welfare Fund. US$5000
18 June 2020. Donation to Sherpa Welfare Fund. US$5000
25 June 2019. Donation to family of Ang Dawa. US$2300
