Please consider donating to assist our staff
We are directly assisting our loyal core staff and welcome your contribution
There will be no trekking work for 2020 and so Jamie is personally ensuring core staff are supported so that they can survive this epic upheaval. All money donated will go to our Nepal and India staff, charges paid by me. Followers and previous trekkers of Project Himalaya have raised ~$9,000 - an amount of support that stuns me - thank you!
USD500 from Lars A
USD250 from Roger Nix
USD100 from Jan Sz
USD100 + 100 from Alan Kerr
USD600 from M.
USD250 from Jim Robinson
USD300 + 300 from Fred M
USD100 +150 from Mike Parle
USD250 from Denio Moreira Carvalho junior
USD200 from Celesta
USD80 from Jane & Glenn Fisher
USD130 from Phil Whitwell
USD200 from Gaye Kittel
USD250 from Carsten Nebel
USD300 from Max Sadler
USD500 from Bruce Utsey
USD500 from Jim Twiss
EUR220 (USD250) from Barbara and Harald
USD200 from anon
USD300 + 500 from Greg Weston
USD200 from Mike Farris
USD20 from Lynda Behan
USD30 from Matthew Ingram
USD40 from Clare Robertson
USD50 from Louise Dunlop
USD200 from Peter Sih
USD300 from Ralph Oertel
USD150 from Anselm Murphy
USD200 from Martin Rhodes-Schofield
USD200 from Guido Zijlma
USD250 from Leeann I-S
USD250 from Jonathon Cupka
USD500 from Peter Wood
NZD200/USD135 from Mark & Kate Sanders
Major thanks!
Money donated so far:
Separate from the above, USD750 donated by Jamie & Esther and already given to Pemba and family
USD993 to Lobsang
USD993 to Ram Lal
USD989 to Bali
USD700 to Bire Tamang
USD600 to Angchuk
USD999 to Stanzin Kungha
USD700 to Raj Kumar
USD500 to Aiteram Lopchan
USD500 to Dawa (Da Gelje) Sherpa, cook - planned
Currently, there is ~1900 in the kitty.
**Some new photos have been added below.**
Lobsang and Yangzom light butter lamps for everyone as a thank you for your kindness.
My position
I must declare my own position first. Project Himalaya is small and unique. Unlike most other trekking companies, I don't pay myself a wage, I am not collecting a salary etc while soliciting donations.
I have always run our treks as a "lifestyle business". While living in Nepal (for 25+ years) I could not justify earning many multiples of what we paid our staff and photos sold mostly paid for my camera systems. I am now in New Zealand and pay taxes and cannot claim any welfare benefit of any sort, unemployment or covid-19 small business assistance, so no "free" money. My position is ok as I have a generous partner and my parents died in the last year.
To donate, please click the secure button below which will take you to PayPal
(Donate in your currency if you want, I will sort out, and if there are any issues, please contact me directly!)
Our India staff
Our staff have always been able to get an interest-free loan from me but this time more than a loan might be needed.
Lobsang Chomphel
Lobsang is the mainstay of our operation in India and has been working with Project Himalaya in Ladakh since the beginning with Joel and myself
Lobsang (and Raj on the left, who since 2018 has had a restaurant in Manali)
Ram Lal
Ram Lal has also been working with us more or less from our beginning in Ladakh, his tough horse-mule team and astute leadership enabling us to take the wildest, most remote trails.
Ram Lal
Angchuk Dorje
Cheerful, patient, kind and always early, Angchuk is the best driver, both sightseeing and driving us to and from treks.
2013: Pasang (Angchuk's brother, also a driver), Angchuk and Lobsang
Stanzin Kungha
From Kargyak in Zanskar, Stanzin has been working for us since 2016 and wants to become a guide; he has been an able helper so far and has climbed Dzo Jongo a couple of times too. He is back on the farm in his home village of Kargyak during these coronavirus times (although came to Leh with a sick family member so I donated more than I initially planned).
Stanzin Kungha
Raj
Thank you, Raj! Raj cheerfully cooked for our tough treks for as long as he could but health issues slowed him so he set up a small restaurant in Manali. Although he wouldn't say, times are tough and I'm glad to offer some small assistance.
Raj in Zanskar
Our Nepal staff
In Nepal, we work with Expedition Himalaya who share work around the staff, so there are multiple overseas companies who employ them and can assist. Therefore the people that have almost exclusively worked for Project Himalaya are the ones without other possible safety nets, and so our support will go to Bali and Bire first.
Having said that, the amount collected was well in excess of what I expected and I will distribute more widely.
Bali (Bal Bahadur) Lopchan
Bali (Bal Bahadur) Lopchan is the guide-sirdar on our toughest treks, ie all of them!
Jamie and Bali at the end of our epic 2015 GHT Wild West trek
Bire (Bir Bahadur) Tamang
Bire (Bir Bahadur) Tamang is a trek guide and sometimes cook for our tough camping treks and in 2019, cook for our National Geographic Everest expedition.
From a long time a go, Bire with our awesome Mustang and Saribung Wild team
Dawa Da'Gelje Sherpa
Although often cook on our longer, tough Nepal treks, Dawa has climbed Everest three times and also cooked at Everest ABC including for our 2019 National Geographic Everest expedition.
2012: Dawa summits Everest for the third time, a variation of this photo was used for the cover of the magazine Action Asia
Aiteram Lopchan
When the going gets tough, Aiteram rises to the occasion and has carried heavy loads to get us through those sometimes overweight first few days. In more normal times, as a general hand, he helps with the tents and serves meals with an emphasis on shared work, shall we say :)
2018: we visited Bali, Aiteram and our porter crew's village, here in Aiteram's house with soft dirt floor and simple living but with beer so perhaps life is comfortable enough?
Recent previous treks | 2018
2017 | 2016 |2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
2005 | 2004 | 2002-03 | 2000-01 | pre-2000
2011-2015 expeditions | 2000-2010 expeditions | 2004-2010 expedition dispatches