The article The Sherpas by T.R. Reid in the May 2003 issue of the National Geographic magazine describes Sherpas and how they have gotten rich from high-altitude tourism.
Sherpa become a generic name for assistant, guide or porter but Sherpa is an ethnic identification for a group of people of Nepal's Khumbu region.
Because of the treacherous conditions of the terrain in the region, Sherpas go everywhere on foot and walking has also been their business. Also they are adapted to low oxigen conditions.
They are guides, porters and owners of hotels and trek companies and they have become very rich and their villages have become more modern.
When they lived isolated it was easy for them to ignore what was happening in the world but now the Sherpa economy is tied to tourism and the world economic situation.
I have never been to this part of the world and am not attracted to high altitude mountain climbing, so I probably will never go there! However, I do find the life of the Sherpa to be quite fascinating. These people must be super, super fit!
ReplyDeleteThe question of global tourism is quite complicated - on the one hand how wonderful for people to experience their pristine culture, on the other, I imagine it is quite advantageous for their economic situation.