Mission:
1. Environmental issues
KEEP was established 30 years ago with the mission of protecting the fragile mountain environment, especially along the trekking trails and surrounding regions.
This is still KEEP’s mission 30 years on but the situation has changed over the intervening period and so KEEP has had to reassess its approach to tackling the fundamental issues of climate change and sustainable tourism.
2. Porter Welfare issues
In today’s world, there is not only a greater pressure on the environment but also greater pressure on porters and the grass-root trekking professionals. Key to their welfare and a safer approach to their professional duties is education.
KEEP is very aware of client expectations and the availability of modern technology impacting the lives of mountain people and as a result KEEP now provides a greater range of learning experiences covering a wider range of meeting client expectations. This also has a positive impact on environmental issues and through KEEP’s community programs, a wider positive impact on community life.
Vision:
Sustainable tourism is critical in developing greater financial stability and developmental opportunities for the remote and marginalized population of Nepal.
KEEP’s vision is to become more sustainable so as to support the trekking professionals and to ensure the future ecological and cultural prosperity of Nepal and its people by educating trekking professionals and maximizing the benefits while reducing the negative impacts associated with tourism
Objectives
KEEP has an important role to play in contributing to the reshaping of the existing adventure tourism industry to meet the challenges of 2022 post the pandemic.
KEEP’s objectives are to:
Increase porter safety through providing experiential learning opportunities
To provide appropriate shell clothing to keep trekking staff safe during their professional duties
To increase the value of the trekking professional for visitors to Nepal through broadening staff knowledge and increasing the awareness of why visitors come to Nepal and what they expect to get from the time they spend with Nepalese staff
To enable the professional trekking staff to add value to the Nepalese experience for visitors
To support village development and to raise educational standards within the communities in which the trekking staff reside
To educate visitors to Nepal with the aim of giving them a better experience while interacting with remote communities and in fact proving opportunities for a safer visit to Nepal
To develop a greater awareness of environmental issues and the importance of developing a truly sustainable tourism plan.
Enable sustainable development through outreach projects and resources in order to seek a more equitable distribution of the economic benefits of tourism for the people of Nepal