winner - 2022 sustainability storytelling competition (communities & cultural preservation category) hosted by glp films.

winner - 2021 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN TOURISM COMPETITION (LAUNCH TRACK) HOSTED BY

EQUITY GLOBAL TREKS is an award-winning mission-based tourism initiative that focuses on uniquely designed trekking tours. Prior to EGT, I ran my adventure travel social enterprise, Peak Explorations, which provided me the opportunity to thoroughly study the trekking tourism industry in Peru, Tanzania, Nepal, Mongolia, Chile, Bhutan, India, Republic of Georgia, Argentina, Philippines, and more. Peak Explorations officially closed its doors in early 2021 as I decided to be more intentional in my purpose with the treks that I organize and offer to everyone. Thus, EGT was born.

As the founder of Peak Explorations, I learned that there’s a dire need to transform the trekking tourism industry into one that is inclusive and equitable. In addition, I observed the industry to demonstrate traces of imperialism and colonialism in its operations. This means the local communities hardly have any say in the way tourism should operate in their community. The business operation of many tour companies can be described as extractive. The influence of a capitalistic system persuades many tourism stakeholders, company owners, and leaders, most of whom are from outside the community or another country, to design treks and tours that are driven by profits at the expense of the local people. Oftentimes, this leads to the abuse and exploitation of the workforce; thereby violating their basic human rights, labor rights and indigenous rights.

Equity Global Treks aims to disrupt the current systems of oppression by implementing three changes in the industry: Workforce Equity Tourism, Community Led Tourism and Women Focused Tourism.

EGT AIMS TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING U.N. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

WORKFORCE EQUITY TOURISM

The porters in Nepal, Peru and Tanzania have struggled to fight for equitable working conditions since the inception of the tourism industry. Local labor laws remain futile in preserving the rights of the local porters while their voices are largely unheard by their respective governments. To make matters worse, many operators fail to comply with the porter laws, to the extent they exist. There is a lack of accountability and transparency which enable companies to continue with their poor treatment of porters. The trekking industry as a whole has yet to engage in a genuine and meaningful discussion of porter issues. Hence, concrete systemic solutions remain lacking.

OUR VISION

Collectively, we
Listen.
Celebrate.
Amplify.
Elevate.
The Porter Voice.
OUR MISSION: To advocate for the human rights of the porters and create Workforce Equity Tourism in the trekking industry worldwide through the use of storytelling and media in all forms.

Due to the lack of initiative by the trekking industry to implement systemic changes to address porter issues, I launched Equity Global Treks as a way to transform tourists into advocates based on the belief that the consumers will be the vehicle for change to create a new standard, aptly called Workforce Equity Tourism. You can learn more about Workforce Equity Tourism via my non-profit human rights organization, The Porter Voice Collective (PVC). Equity Global Treks functions as a means to support the mission of PVC by providing travelers with education on the movement towards inclusion and equity on the mountain trails and beyond. PVC is a media organization that utilizes film, written publications, and all forms of media to educate travelers about the fight for workforce equity. Learn about our current documentary film project - KM 82: The Porter Voices on Peru’s Inca Trail.

watch the km 82 documentary film

COMMUNITY LED TOURISM

In the tourism industry, there is a dire need to elevate the roles of indigenous communities in their own local tourism as many outside entities have extracted and/or appropriated the local culture that compromises the local community in every aspect of their lives. As a means to preserve local culture and history, it is imperative to ensure that the local and indigenous communities act as the primary storytellers and owners of their local tourism. Elevating the roles of local communities is the primary means of decolonizing the tourism industry which transcends beyond merely “giving back” or perpetuating “white saviorism.” In my role as a tour designer, I spend months with local communities to forge relationships that allow me to understand their desires, goals, and aspirations for their local tourism. These relationships lead to not just business partnerships, but friendships that are meaningful and instrumental in forging trust so as to create tourism initiatives that benefit all - the community, travelers, and the tourism industry as a whole. EGT creates tours that promote the leadership and voices of the local community as the driving force behind the travel experience. In a community-led tourism model, the residents of every destination are the hosts and leaders of their tourism, not merely service providers, while travelers come as guests. Take a look at our award-winning, women of color-founded and community-led 30-day program, Khusvegi English & Nomadic Culture Camp in Western Mongolia.

women focused

My mission wouldn’t be complete without mentioning my commitment to elevating the roles and status of women in the trekking tourism industry. As a woman of color with a colonized indigenous identity, I’m conscious of the fact that women (especially combined with being brown and/or indigenous), face barriers all across the board within the adventure travel/trekking tourism industry. Women are the most undervalued group in this industry, oftentimes losing out on opportunities or having a much harder time attaining leadership positions by virtue of sexism and discrimination. For that reason, the treks I organize are led by women guides and porters so as to give women the leverage they need to work and advance in the industry. At the same time, we organize trips that are “Women Only” to nurture camaraderie among female travelers which are led by all female/mixed-gender expedition staff.

In the trekking industry, female guides and porters are on the rise in Peru, Nepal and Tanzania. However, there’s a lack of monitoring and regulation to ensure the safety, privacy and well-being of female guides and porters. Hence, I select only local agencies to partner with that align with my mission to create safety protocols for female guides and porters, as well as, elevate and advance the status of women in all areas of the industry, be it as a guide, porter, cook, driver, etc. Undoubtedly, there’s still a long way to go to achieve equity in this industry but small steps such as this can create the new norm sooner or later - one that is rooted in equity and inclusion for women, people of color and indigenous communities.

EgT IS A TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR TRAVELERS

Equity Global Treks specializes in creating systemic changes in the trekking tourism industry by way of transforming travelers into allies and members of our equity-minded community as they gain in-depth and transformative insight into the power of travel as a movement for change. Traveling with EGT entails uncovering our privileges and capacities as travelers and make use of both to advocate on behalf of local communities that are fighting for equity and inclusion.

As a traveler, you will experience a holistic and intimate community bonding experience, as well as, cultivate empathy, global-mindedness and your unique personal growth in the process. In the end, my hope is for you to find a renewed commitment to a version of the “responsible traveler” that incorporates the notions of equity and inclusion in your travel life.

As a traveler, I believe you deserve to pay for an experience in the tourism industry where the workforce is valued and treated with respect. The local people are as critical as you in this industry. After all, the local people, as the hosts in your destination, are the true authors of your travel experience. They know best how to tell the stories of the place, nature, history, culture, as well as, the contributions, achievements and struggles of the local people. Now, with EGT, they can be a compelling part of your story too. Let’s transform the current tourism industry into a movement towards inclusion and a unified stance towards creating a humane and equitable industry.

As travelers with EGT, please read the Equity Traveler Guide to learn the ways to become advocates for equity-based tourism as part of your transformational travel journey with us.

JOIN US AND CREATE AN EQUITABLE OUTDOOR & TREKKING TOURISM INDUSTRY.

CUSTOMIZED EQUITY GLOBAL TREKS

We can organize a customized trip for private groups (guided or unguided) that focuses on women, community based tourism and workforce equity for the following destinations: Mongolia, Philippines, Nepal, India, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania, South Africa, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Nicaragua, Iceland and more. Email us via equity@browngaltrekker.com