A Heavy Burden - Coloniality and Exploitation of the Subaltern in Nepal’s Mountain Tourism Industry

Sammanfattning: This thesis analyzes the effects of mountain tourism on local people and communities in Nepal with a focus on three main questions: the equity of mountain jobs, the impacts of Western mountaineering’s dominance on local cultures, and the respect and lack of respect for local workers' lives. Despite repeated accounts of precarious and dangerous working conditions the adventure and mountain tourism industry continue to exploit some bodies on behalf of others. Through semi-structured interviews, the lens of West-centrism, and the concept of the subaltern, this thesis explores the many ways the industry puts the local workforce at risk and in complex social and economic situations. The thesis explores how and why these conditions are upheld and justified through social and economic power dynamics rooted in colonial relationships. The results reveal a complex and significant impact on the local community’s ways of life and qualities of life. The thesis concludes that the justification and continuation of these working conditions are only possible through the devaluation of locals' lives in a West-centric mode of measuring success and value. The structure of the industry is anchored in the exploitation of the local workforce – a Nepali mountain worker's life is worth less to the industry than paying customers. These lingering colonial and racist attitudes and practices keep mountain tourism workers stuck in the racial and colonial category of ‘the helper’/’servant’. The thesis also explores what it means for local workers to try and break free from that category and the implications this has had on mountain cultures and their relationship to mountains.