The Indigenous Community Immersion project provides a totally unique learning experience that brings volunteers up-close to an ancient way of life. Volunteers are placed in an indigenous, Quechua-speaking community high in the Andes mountains, approximately 1 hour from Cuzco. This volunteer project is an off-the-grid full-immersion. An excellent project for volunteers interested in anthropology, gender-roles, and indigenous cultures.
As you’ll be sharing in everyday life with an Indigenous family, the standard of living is quite basic and the pace is slow. Schedules can vary greatly depending on weather, harvest seasons, family and social events. As a volunteer you’ll need to be self-driven with a capacity to see tasks that can add value to the local community.
Volunteers at Indigenous Culture projects may be asked to:
• Plant, harvest, store and transport crops like potatoes, corn, and quinoa
• Care for animals, including herding, pasturing, feeding, cleaning pens, and collecting food
• Learn about and assist with traditional weaving and using natural dyes
• Mix and form adobe bricks to construct homes and communities buildings
• Assist with local education, sometimes including English classes
Why we need you in Peru
Approx 40% living in Cusco, Peru are living below the poverty line.The average monthly wage in this region is only approx 338 Solas (USD $101)We can learn a great deal from their holistic cultures and their high-quality, low-impact ways of living.These are often socially conscious communities using participatory ways to enhance their spiritual, social, ecological, and economic aspects of life.
How can you help?
IVI’s Andean Immersion project provides a totally unique service learning experience that brings volunteers up-close to an ancient way of life.Volunteers are placed in an indigenous, Quechua-speaking community high in the Andes mountains, approximately 1 hour from Cusco.An excellent project for volunteers interested in anthropology, gender-roles, and indigenous cultures.This volunteer project is an “off-the-grid” placement and is true full-immersion.
