Ben Ayers has worked and lived with mountain porters in Nepal for the past four years, even carrying loads in the traditional fashion — with a basket and tumpline. He recently founded Porters’ Progress, a Nepali NGO run by porters themselves which seeks to improve their working conditions through positive and empowering means. In just over two years, Ayers’ efforts have led to over 1,700 porters being outfitted with warm clothing, and another 3,000 given training on critical topics such as altitude-sickness prevention and basic mountain safety.