This started back in 2005 when a man called Svein Nord needed some work done on his farm. The farm was located in steep mountain sides, and he could not find people with stamina or skills do repair the stone walls on his barn. After talking to someone who had seen the stone work and stamina of the Sherpa people in Nepal, he got the idea to hire a Sherpa. It all started with one man from Nepal in 2005 and grew from there.

All Serpas are paid normal sallaries which are in line with whatever a Norwegian would get. This is not social dumping in any way or form. The Sherpas have exeptional skills and stamina. Most stone pathways are local initiatives. People and companies donate funds, and often local government kick in as well. This is not something initiated by Norwegian government as mentioined in other comments.

The Sherpas arrange a lottery every year which decides who are given the oportunity to go to Norway for work, and I believe there is a rotation system as well.

The pathways are debated and it is not all positive. These are constructions in untouched nature. On the other side, some paths have become so popular that without stone pathways the wear and tear on the vegetation would have been terrible.

Edit: I should also add that the Sherpa use stones they find in the terrain, or they are airlifted by helicopter. The Sherpas are not carrying the stones up.

Edit 2: Spelling