“I am from Yuksom in Sikkim. I started working with Indiahikes in 2014 as a cook on the Goechala trek.

In my very early days, the management team at Goechala appreciated the quality of my cooking and gave me the opportunity to go out of my district and work in Uttarakhand for a few months. Somehow, I didn’t feel confident enough to step out of Sikkim at that point so I didn’t take it up.

It was only in 2016 that I felt confident, with enough work experience and trust in the organisation, to go to Uttarakhand in the winter season.

I took up the opportunity and went to Sankri, which used to be the basecamp for the Kedarkantha trek. After a month at Sankri, I went to Lohajung, the base camp of the Brahmatal trek.

It was quite daunting at first to leave my native village and go somewhere unfamiliar. I interacted with the staff in Uttarakhand and met so many Indiahikes members from all over the country. Over time, it opened my eyes to a wider world. It gave me a lot of confidence.

On the work front, it gave me a lot of exposure too. I learned that trekkers loved the food I cooked. Thanks to this, the Indiahikes team gave me the huge responsibility of doing a 10-day training of other cooks in Lohajung. That responsibility is something I still value deeply.

Today, from being a helper to the Head Cook and now a Trek Manager for the Goechala slope, my journey has brought about a lot of changes in me.

When I joined I hadn't thought that I would get such a stable environment to work all round the year. I had not imagined that I would be able to support my family in the long run.

The reason that today I have grown so much in my life is that I got associated with a good organization. And throughout my journey, they have trusted me immensely with taking Indiahikes forward. That trust is what I appreciate the most.”

Subhash Daju, Trek Manager at Indiahikes