What are we actually doing?

These are the words of one person, a Nepalese, who knows more than most - the son of Tenzing Norgay:

"The Sherpas own culturally prescribed hospitality has been good for business and public relations...For many foreigners it is during their outing to the Himalayas that they form friendships for the first time with people markedly poorer than themselves. This experience brings on feelings of guilt and a yearning to give their hosts something in return...

"I have to commend the Khumbu Sherpas on their skill at eliciting such support, but I feel the time has come to focus more on the opportunities they have within their own community... It is natural for people to want to have a positive personal impact on others. Generosity is a noble and natural character trait. I feel however that the best way to help the Sherpas is through community-level projects that benefit all villagers more or less equally, such as building schools, health posts or dental clinics... Foreigners who have invested in the tourism industry (too) have hired, trained and supported many Sherpas, providing opportunities at which the smart and hardworking excel.

"The mayor of Namche told me he wasn't convinced that tourism and prosperity have been universally good for the Sherpa community because of the social upheaval and divisiveness that accompanies them. When two brothers go trekking with different groups and one of them returns with a foreign sponsorship for his child and the other doesn't, the seed of family and clan division is planted.

"The have-nots become the haves overnight. Thats fine in terms of equality and redistribution of wealth, which people in the West speak about so much. Foreigners charity is not always based on merit or performance, however, and often the arbitrary and excessive nature of these changes can upset a social balance that has developed over centuries.

"'Mikaru (white eyes or Westerners) are much like cattle' a Sherpa woman told me in Namche as we discussed the Sherpas' success in the tourism industry, 'They are happy wandering about aimlessly all day long...they are constantly getting sick...and you have to lead them by the nose over difficult terrain or they'll fall off the trail...But if you feed them well, they'll produce a lot of rich milk for you.'"

This is why Moving Mountains adopts a community-led approach, with years of experience behind us, to ensure our money is spent properly, without damaging the community itself through misguided generosity.