1) The Road Less Traveled Andean Village Experience
2) Care for Cuzco: Heart of the Inca Empire
1) The Road Less Traveled Andean Village Experience
If you are looking for a truly "off the beaten path" experience in a community with real need, then you've found it! Your volunteer program will take place in beautiful San Pedro de Casta, a secluded and traditional village located high in the Andes, about 4 hours outside of Lima. The people of San Pedro make their communal living by farming the terraced land of the surrounding mountains, as their ancestors did for thousands of years before them.
Work Project
Volunteers work on a variety of community development projects, from building repair, establishing irrigation channels for the schools, reforestation, offering instruction in basic skills such as English, computers, hospitality, and first aid. Volunteers are also likely to build simple Lorena stoves (which greatly reduces fuel consumption and increases health of the home's inhabitants by reducing smoke), and other projects that arise. Work projects will be selected prior to your arrival based on immediate need in the community.
Projects vary depending on the number of volunteers, which projects were finished (or not) with the prior group, what priorities have changed, weather conditions, which supplies are available, and often the interest and fitness level of the volunteers. For these reasons, specific projects are often not fixed until the week prior to your arrival and can even change upon arrival.
Click here to view a short video on this program.
Please note it may take a couple of minutes to buffer before viewing, but it does NOT download to your desktop.
Some of our Super Volunteer Coordinators
Food and Lodging
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Volunteers will stay in the central village lodge. Electricity and modern bathrooms with running (not hot) water will be available. Fresh Andean specialties with lots of fresh vegetables and beans from the surrounding hills will be served.
Leisure Activities
Many enriching activities will be offered throughout the week, these activities are planned, but optional. You may choose to take a horseback ride to the ruins at Marcahuasi, visit the cheese or hat maker, learn to cook an Andean specialty, visit the mummies at the local museum, make Hualquies alongside local women (special pouches for carrying coca leaves) or explore the town at your leisure. San Pedro de Casta is a small and quiet place, so be prepared that this village offers no bright lights or big city night life. Volunteers will feel they are living in the Peru from ages long past. Click here for a sample itinerary.
Arranging Your Airfare
You will need to arrange to be at the meet up point in Lima by 9:30am on the Saturday your program begins. The program ends at between 7 and 9:00 am the following Saturday and it takes approximately 4 hours to get you back to Lima. The airport is one of the return drop off stops our driver will make. You would not want to arrange a flight that departs any earlier than 3:30pm on the return. For more on flight tips, click here.
Safety and Security
Lima, Cusco, and immediate surroundings are considered quite safe in terms of political stability and health risks. Be aware that both Globe Aware Peru programs are at a high altitude, and if you have any sort of high blood pressure or respiratory condition, you should check with your doctor before deciding to go. More Safety and Security
Want to volunteer for more than a week?
2) Care for Cuzco: Heart of the Inca Empire
Flash player 8 is required to view this movie.
Cusco is known the world over as the enchanting heart of the Inca civilization, and is the gateway to one of the great wonders of the world: Machu Picchu. With its narrow, cobblestone streets, Colonial architecture atop Incan stonework, and locals in vibrant and traditional dress, you will forget you are living in the 21st century.
Photos from new facility for needy children
Work Project
You will be staying and working in a home for impoverished children from rural households. While some of the children have families, most are too poor to care for them. Without this home or "alburgue," they would have no educational opportunities. There is no limit to the needs at this facility. Projects may include improvements and maintenance to the facility such as painting classrooms, creating a garden, or constructing desks and beds. The children attend public school in Cusco during the day, but you will have ample opportunities to work directly with them after classes and on the weekends. You may also visit a local family to construct a Lorena stove. Your hosts will chose your volunteer projects prior to your trip based on the immediate needs of the children's home.
Click here to view a short video on this program.
Please note it may take a couple of minutes to buffer before viewing, but it does NOT download to your desktop.
Some of our Super Volunteer Coordinators
Food and Lodging
The children's home is located just a few minutes drive from all the major sites within Cusco and the main square. Volunteers will stay in dormitory rooms (2 to 3 per room) on site at the childrens home. Modern plumbing, warm running water, flushing toilets, and electricity are all available. Traditional, delicious Andean meals are prepared fresh daily for you.
Leisure Activities
Volunteers can make a scheduled excursion to Machu Picchu (at your cost, since your program fee can not be used for this due to tax regulations), and to other various surrounding ancient sites, several of which are in very close walking proximity. You will also have free time to explore the charming pedestrian town of Cusco with your fellow volunteers, to learn how to make Peruvian food, etc. Past groups have met with traditional shaman to learn about their way of life. Others have gone on a Pisco sour tasting mission. Depending on your cultural interests, your volunteer coordinator will help organize these cultural explorations. Click here for a sample itinerary.
Arranging Your Airfare
You will need to arrange to be in Cusco by 11am on the Saturday your program begins. The program ends at about 10am the following Saturday and it takes approximately 5 minutes for our driver to get you to the Cusco airport. You can essentially arrange any return time on Saturday, as long as it is before 4pm, as the driver will make trips based on your return trip time. For more on flight tips, click here . LIMA-To-Cusco airfare As of 2009, it appears that AeroCondor stopped servicing Lima-Cusco routes and StarPeru seems to have had some reliability issues of late. LanPeru is now offering the only major flight to Cusco, other than Taca, which only has one 5AM flight a day. Booking from the US is more expensive than going through Peru agencies, therefore wanted to make sure volunteers consider contacting a travel agency in Peru that sell the tickets at the normal rate ($150 to $250 roundtrip): www.pmexplorers.com
Safety and Security
Lima, Cusco, and immediate surroundings are considered quite safe in terms of political stability and health risks. Be aware that both Globe Aware Peru programs are at a high altitude, and if you have any sort of high blood pressure or respiratory condition, you should check with your doctor before deciding to go. More Safety and Security .
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Lists of Cusco Accomplishments
Click here to read journal entries from our Care for Cusco Alumni