A registered non-profit non-governmental organization, Kathmandu Environment Education Project (KEEP) has the mission of ensuring the future ecological and cultural prosperity of Nepal and its people by maximizing the benefits and reducing the negative impacts associated with tourism. Established in the year 1992 AD, KEEP was initiated after the tragic death of a young British trekker Tracey Taylor Young. During her climb on the trekking peak Imja Tse (Island Peak) with her friend Joanne Chittenden with the objective of raising awareness of the growing environmental degradation of the Khumbu region of Nepal, Tracey was killed in a fall. Thus, in her memory, a new ecotourism project was established with the aim of providing education on safe and ecologically sustainable trekking methods to preserve the unique and fragile ecosystem of the country.
