R.S.I.S PERU 2012

PROJECT REPORT BY KATE GIBSON- PROJECT LEADER, IN CONSULTATION WITH DUNCAN HOSSACK, EMMETT ZACKHEIM, RAFAEL SALOMON AND KAREN NIEDERMEYER

PARTICIPANTS

Murphey Harmon (M) The USA Fabian Becker (M) Stiftung Louisenlund Germany Constantin Paul Froh (M) Salem Germany Maximilian Brudler (M) Landheim- Schondorf Germany Josephine Olhoff-Jakobsen (F) Herlufsholm Skole Denmark Jacob Bunn (M) UK Fritz Till Krech (M) Salem Germany Coralie N'Djore-Acka (F) Bishops College School Canada Rachel Morris (F) USA Melise Knowles (F) Athenian School USA Benedikt Schuster (M) Gordonstoun UK/Germany Emma Pope (F) USA Prateek Jaiswal (M) India Shubham Nowal (M) Mayo College India Helene Gellert-Kristenson (F) Herlufsholm Skole Denmark Rishabh Gupta (M) India Sebastien Haimet (M) L’Ermitage School France Anige’r Oriol (F) USA Aelke Schael Van der Venter (F) South Africa Anita van Dam (F) Regents School, Pattaya Thailand Sebastian Alegre Morris (M) Peru

Adults: Kate Gibson – Project Leader Emmett Zackheim and Duncan Hossack – Deputy Leaders Karen Niedermeyer – Accompanying Adult Rafael Salomon – Project Manager

ITINERARY

July 17th Arrive in Lima

July 18th Service day in Lima shanty town

July 19th Fly to Cuzco and travel to hotel in Urubamba Valley July 20 Briefings, and time at Apulaya Andean Music and Art Centre

July 21 Briefings, and day climbing the via ferrata in the Urubamba Valley

July 22 to 26 First section of Project

July 27 to 29 Mid-Project Break in Aguas Calientes including visit to Machu Picchu and the Hot Springs. You will also be celebrating Peruvian Independence Day on the 28th July.

July 30 to August 4 Continue with Project work

August 4 Travel back down from the Project for night in Urubamba Valley/Cuzco

August 5th and 6th Two days in Cuzco for cultural activities

August 7 Departure from Peru

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The aim of this Project was to construct an additional greenhouse for the community that will allow the village to grow much needed vegetables and herbs that will provide a nutritional supplement to villagers’ carbohydrate rich, and monotonous daily diet. The group worked alongside a Peruvian organization called ECOAN (Eco Sistemas Andinos), and organisation that we had worked very successfully with on Projects in 2010 and 2011. The village of Quishuarani is on the same road as Pampacorral, where the 2011 team built greenhouses.

ARRIVAL IN LIMA

In anticipation of the students, the 3 leaders arrived a couple of days early and we were able to discuss our roles and expectations, as well as of course sampling the local Ceviche- a delicious Peruvian combination of raw fish marinated in lime with onions and Yuka! The Youth Hostel where we were staying was much improved on last year and we were glad to be able to sit outside in the quiet walled garden and make tea easily in the cosy kitchen. The students arrived gradually over a period of 2 days, each being met by one of the leaders at the airport and quickly getting to know each other. The first night, some of the students who had been there for a few hours were tasked with planning and preparing the dinner for everyone. This was a brilliant success as the students were forced into negotiating with one another and had a chance to put their leadership skills into action. The result was an enjoyable afternoon at the nearby supermarket ‘Wong’ and a tasty meal of Fajitas with cheese and homemade guacamole! Even the new arrivals joined in, but most were keen to get to bed after a tiring journey.

On the first full day we went to one of the shantytowns to help paint the wall of a kindergarten. This was in response to a suggestion from Frances (the accompany adult who had visited it in 2011) and to give the students a chance to see what life was like in the poor areas of the city before we headed to the mountains. Karen had also been working there for some time before the project started and had already established good relationships with some of the teachers. Our students immediately stepped up to the mark, regardless of artistic ability and took responsibility for designing and painting their short section of the wall. The result was truly a work of art.

The day finished with a slightly dark but tasty BBQ at Markham and a chance for some of the students to be reunited with friends from Peru who had been on exchange at their school.

ACCLIMATISATION IN CUSCO

Late into the night our final team member arrived after a missed connection! We were ready to head back to the airport for our flights to Cusco.

The air was thin, but the sun was shining and the mountains around us seemed to welcome us to the Andes. We headed out of the city and down into the Sacred Valley for a few days to get used to the altitude. The group were already bonding well and finding out about each other’s school and countries. We took the first evening at Qu’wana Lodge to play ice breakers of which ‘splat’ become a popular favourite to re-occur later in the project! Then the students moved round a cycle of activities led by the leaders, adding their handprints and expectations to the pillow case I had stolen from my mother’s linen cupboard which would serve as our team flag! We then had a discussion about what they could perform on the final night from their nation so that rehearsals could start, and finally, by candlelight (due to a power cut), looking at risk assessment for the cultural phases of the project.

Our first day of fun in the valley involved panpipes, beans and generous hospitality. We found this in the home of Valerio and Emerita and their family who run the Apulaya Cultural Centre. The morning was spent learning various wind instruments and practising in pairs, each partner taking the ‘male’ or ‘female’ aspect of the flutes (that’s the big or small ones to the untrained reader!). After some unbeatable freshly baked empanadas we then learnt about pre-Inca art and how to really draw a bean with all its potential!

The next day, our individual personalities really came through as we attacked the 300 metre rock face rising above the Urubamba River for the via ferrata climbing activity. Some of the students were much more confident and experienced, and eager to help their shaking team mates climb, make it across the ‘bridge’ and then down the abseil at the other side. Many wedgies and much screaming and laughter later, we were all safely at the bottom! We had twisted our way down, crashing into each other and the greenery but now we all had awesome stories in the memory bank to regale our friends back home with! And it was only the start of the trip! PROJECT PHASE 1

The twisty road up the mountain provided beautiful views as we climbed higher and higher, passing through Pampacorral (last year’s Project village) and onto a track no one thought the bus would be able to get up, but it did, only to meet a gushing stream ahead! But 3 hours later we had arrived at our home for the week. The isolation of the community struck us all as we gasped for air dragging our rucksacks up to the hut. There seemed to be no one around, but we were quickly thrilled to find that we might not all need our roll mats as there were 8 beds! Quickly agreeing to double-up to make the most of the comfort, the boys settled in one room and the girls another, with a few having to put up with the dining room floor and 2 brave souls electing to sleep outside on the veranda!

Once we had all claimed our sleeping spots Rafael took us down to the school where we were to repair the old greenhouse and so imagine our surprise and his to find it looking in excellent condition, and filled with plants! We realised we would need to wait until the next day to find out what was happening from ECOAN the NGO who we would be working with.

That first evening set the tone and structure for many entertaining and reflective evenings throughout the project. We had dinner (soup and then the main meal by whichever two students were on duty), post-dinner-time card games and magic tricks, and then the briefing. This always started with a lively game and much laughter, followed by personal reflections on the day; each time with a shifted focus, and concluded with plans for the next day’s activities. We had to head to bed shortly after this as our dining room was a shared sleeping area with the cooks who needed to be up early!

In the days that followed the students and staff had to work physically hard, carrying large rocks several hundred metres, digging out the hard earth of the playing field to smooth the ground for the new greenhouse we would be constructing. Perhaps the most challenging task for us all was understanding why our ideas were often rejected in favour of a local way and time that had been spent building and digging was often needed to be redone as the initial plan had not been correctly communicated. A good learning curve for many about how things are done round here! It was inspiring to see the way that many students were able to continue to be motivated and worked even harder to move the pace of the construction on, despite the setbacks. Some of the students worked with Duncan digging a channel from the stream, which was then filled with a hose leading to the worksite; it was a satisfying moment when the water flowed up onto the field and we were able to make some beautiful mud from it when mixed with the lovingly hand-shifted earth. We worked alongside some of the local village men and as the days unfolded we picked up some Quechua but were never able to match their hammering and wall building skills! In the evenings when work was done some of the group stayed at the school to play football with the locals, a moment that was much looked forward to, especially as the ice cold night was drawing in.

By the end of the first week everyone was ready for a good wash as the ice cold offering from the single sink without soap was not an enticing option for our grubby fingers.

Everyone was sad to see the end of Doctor David’s time with us as he had been a valuable and kind member of the team. We all also enjoyed the thermal spas in Lares

on the way down the mountain.

MID-PROJECT BREAK

Another night in the luxury of Qu’wana lodge and the warmth of stories round the wood- burning stove and everyone felt re-energised and ready for our mini-break! We headed up to Ollantaytambo for a tour and some much needed pizza before jumping on the Vistadome train which wound its way through the narrow valley to Aguas Calientes. There was no time for a lie-in and we were up to Machu Picchu before the crowds had really gathered. We had a bit of history from our guide Leo and then we all headed up Huaynu Pichhu, which was a daunting task, but we all made it and were glad to have taken on the challenge as the view was well worth it. It is literally like being at the top of the world.

Afterwards the tour continued, and then some students went to the sun-gate, whilst others chilled in the sun. Dinner that night at the delicious Indio Feliz and then we were back on the train back to Quishuarani, ready for some more work.

PROJECT PHASE 2

Due to the late start we still needed to finish the Greenhouse when we got back up to the village, so the next couple of days were spent putting on the plastic roof and finalising the interior. It was a great teamwork task to try to hold the big sheets of yellow plastic from blowing away as it was nailed in on top.

There was much hilarity and sore arms but finally we had a real greenhouse!! One of the locals came the next morning to bless it and we felt a sense of achievement as we passed through the door of what had only a week and half before been just the corner of a school field.

Our next task was to split into smaller teams and help build cold frames for individual families. There was a little bit of difficulty as some of the community who had originally agreed that they would like help had gone down to Lares or to the new bridge construction site to work, but in the end we had a 4 locations. As we had seen from the rest of the project, we needed to be flexible as the plans often changed and instead of the neat compact cold frames we had seen the designs for; we ended up converting old buildings which were not in use. This was great as it meant we already had the rocks and in some cases most of the structure, so we were able to complete all 4 by the end of the week. The work was tough, especially as it came with a 20 minute walk to get there! But the students really enjoyed the chance to experience what life was like for the locals, eating with them and seeing their homes.

The final day was a fantastic plethora of activities that will remain in our mind’s eyes and hearts for a long time. Some of the team went to finish the last cold frame whilst others took a hike up to the beautiful waterfalls we had been able to see from our camp all week. When we returned for lunch, Nico had cooked a freshly killed lamb in the Pachamanca (earth oven) and we sat outside in the sunshine to eat it. That afternoon we rehearsed for the evening’s performance and then took on the locals in a game of football.

In the evening we all donned the fabulous costumes Valerio and Emerita had brought for us to wear and we danced around the fire playing our panpipes! The students then took turns to perform things from their country and we even did a Scottish reel!

The following morning we distributed the donations to the locals, packed up and said Adios to Quishuarani.

CULTURAL PHASE

The last few days in Cusco were a great time to relax, enjoy some food that wasn’t rice (!) and buy some souvenirs between the tours and salsa dancing! The group were able to visit the ruins at Sachsayhuaman and wander round the narrow streets of the city in small groups. The final briefing brought honest and thoughtful reflections from all the members of the team who had taken something different from the experience. What was clear was that they had all been surprised at the speed and depth with which you can form friendships with people from all over the world and the amount of fun you can have with a bunch of people that you only met 3 weeks before!

FINAL THOUGHTS

In conclusion; Peru 2012 was a successful project with much gained from both staff and students. There were a few surprises with the actual work on the project site, but overall the goals were achieved; a small community in the Andes now has more places to grow food which will improve the nutrition in their diet, and another group of students has had an experience which will stay with them for the rest of their lives and remind them of their responsibilities to consider those outside of their own privileged world as they become the citizens of tomorrow.

26 PEOPLE ARRIVED AS INDIVIDUALS AND LEFT FEELING THAT THEY HAD BEEN PART OF A DYNAMIC TEAM WHO HAD LEARNT MANY THINGS, LAUGHED MANY TIMES AND HAD AN EXPERIENCE WHICH THEY WOULD NEVER FORGET.