Living Routes: Peru 2008 Winter

Salute to Hammocks!

The hammocks here at the eco-center have been so wonderfully awesome. This is a picture of Ariel, Laura, Caitlin, and Ally the first day the hammocks were installed, the first week(ish). I have spent many hours in these hammocks enjoying the beautiful scenery of Lamas (and at night, the lights of Tarapoto). I spent this morning in the orange one (my favorite) because I finished my final...

Days 16-20: Homestays!!!

We got back from the homestays last night- I had such a wonderful time and as far as I can tell, so did everybody else. I will post some pictures and stories now and some more tomorrow and Sunday. We have until Sunday night to work on our final projects. We depart for Lima on the 21st and some of us will go home and some of us will continue our travels, including Machu Picchu! For the homestays, we split into three groups, visiting three separate communities near Lamas, Peru....

Homestays!

Hello Readers! We are departing to the homestays today in which we will be staying in homes in small communities. We will be staying until Thursday and there will be no blog activity from me during this time. It is going to be an exciting program filled with weaving, farming, fishing, futbol (soccer) and indigenous music. Please send us all your best wishes as we enter this very exciting part of the program. It will be challenging but also very rewarding to learn about another way of life.

Day 15: Another Day Off! Whoohoo!

Yesterday was very relaxing. A small group of us went to Tarapoto and had lunch and delicious ice cream. Here is a picture of Charlotte, Jill, and Hannah being silly with the alien manikins in Tarapoto.

Day 14: Cacao Groves

Unfortunately I was sick on this day and stayed at home and slept while everyone went on a bumpy 1.5 hour van ride to the cacao groves to learn about growing and processing cacao. As a lover of chocolate, I am sorely disappointed that I missed this day. I am feeling much better now. I knew I would be sick in visiting a third world country and my expectations were and continue to be fulfilled. I had dysentery my first week here (traveling solo, not with the program) and now I seem to...

Update from your junior instructor

Dear Living Routes Peru 08 families and friends, My two senior colleagues have given the update on everyone�s health far better than I could. So I would just like to give a quick update on our activities. Today we went to the organic sugar cane fields of Huapo, where we were welcomed with music and samples of organic sugar, or panela, by the cooperative�s committee of cane growers. We received detailed explanations of the process of organic cane growing and processing, and toured the...

Update from Instructors

Dear families and friends of Peru 08 Living Routes course: We would like to bring you up to date on the health of those students (and myself) who came down with a tropical parasites infestation. First of all I am extremely happy to report that everyone is up and about. No one is vomiting or having diarrhea any longer. In this afternoon's lecture by Noah Enelow, only three students did not participate out of 35. Julia and Jill were swinging in thie hammocks in the balcony of the upper...

Day 13: Sugar Cane

This morning we went to see a community where sugar cane is grown and made into panela, a delicious unrefined form of sugar. We saw the sugar cane fields and the building where the process the sugar cane. The community greeted us with music! Those of us who are not sick are in this group...

Day 12: Oro Verde Cooperative Tour

Yesterday we got a tour of the Oro Verde Coop center where they have offices and taste test the coffee. We also went to the warehouse where they dry and store their coffee beans. Man was it hot yesterday! The sick people (a lot of us) picked a good day to stay home and rest. The conference room at Oro Verde. L to R: Sara S., Sara G., Hannah, Shelby, one of the Ingenieros, Matt, Sami,...

More Day 11 Pictures!

At the end of the day, a large group of us walked up to the mirador (lookout spot) and got beer and pizza! It was so much fun! The view from the mirador. This is Nelly, Sami, and Liz R. Alison D. and Corey sitting atop the mirador. This giant cross marks the spot. Drinks at the...

Health and other issues

Dear Living Routes family and friends, A number of things have come to a head at once that I am not pleased to report. I should preface this by saying that overall the course is going well. However, we have had some real issues which I�ll now address with you. Some of you may already be aware that we�ve been having some health problems the last few days. Things came to a head this morning when eleven of us woke up with illness, some of us having been up most of the night as...

Day 11: Free Day!

Due to the rain, the shaman herb garden that we were planning to visit was too muddy so instead we had a lecture and discussion session in the morning and the afternoon free. It was been a nice day so far. Kali, Jill, Julia and I walked to a small town near Lamas where indigenous people live. Many others also chose to visit this nice community. Later we will go to the mirador, or "lookout spot" which is perched high above the town and eat pizza made by a German expat and...

Day 10: CHOCOLATE!!!

This day was THE BEST! We went to Oro Verde's processing plant where they make fruit-chocolate creations. We got to see how they process the cocoa plant and how it gets to be the yummy chocolate bars we love. The best was the taste testing! Oro Verde chocolate is delicious. I cant wait to see this Fair Trade chocolate in stores! They are going to market it with therapeutic benefits. Healthy chocolate! Almost all of the group waiting to learn all about chocolate...

Day 9: Chacra

This day was most excellent with crazy van rides up steep hills in the mud. We eventually had to get out and just walk as it was too muddy to drive any further. We toured chacras (farms) and saw coffee, cocoa, palm, plantains, yucca (cassava), mangos, and other things, all growing together in a biodynamic, mutually supporting way. We were then treated to fresh coconut milk and pineapple! I personally felt spoiled! Standing amongst coffee...

First third of the course completed!

Hello to all blog readers! I am only now able to write an entry to this blog since I came down with a nasty flu. I am fortunately much better now. Today the last group of students - the 5 males students - have moved from the hotel in town to the new Ecological Center. We have all worked extremely hard to make the center habitable. However, 15 women students have been able to be housed in the upper house since the beginning and the remaining 14 women students moved into the center house...

Day 8: Our Day Off!

Today started with a rainshower that flooded Arial, Laura, and Caitlin�s room! :( I am used to sleeping in a place that is under construction because my dad was always renovating while I was growing up but many are not and it is difficult for them to adjust to leaks and concrete dust. I have to admit myself, the dust is quite difficult to deal with. I can sleep through construction noise though, thankfully, while many others cannot. Slowly but surely, the Eco Center and Frederique�s...

Day 7: Takiwasi

Yesterday we visited Takiwasi, a spiritual retreat and healing center for those suffering from drug addiction. Here they give Ayahuasca to patients for spiritual connection to facilitate healing. It was fascinating!

Day 6: Tropical Forest Preserve and Waterfall

This day we toured a natural preserve with a guide from the local university. Here they save animals that need to be put back into the wild, such as this bear: Then we went to a waterfall with cold but refreshing healing waters. I personally felt much better after a swim. L to R: Hannah,...

Day 5: Farm Tours

This day I was really sick so Prof Frederique and I slept in hammocks on a small farm while others toured. I don�t have a picture of this but apparently lots of other students do. We compared a mestizo farm, an indigenous farm, and a colonial farm. Below is a monoculture, colonial rice field:

Greetings from your Fair Trade instructor

Greetings from Lamas! My name is Noah Enelow, and I am the instructor specializing in the Fair Trade and cooperativism portion of the course. I am a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, and I spent the better part of 2007 researching the Oro Verde cooperative, where we are now located. After a wonderful New Year�s celebration at the co-op and in the town, we are now entering the first phase of the course, entitled "Culture...

Day 4: Happy 2008!

Today we have half the day off followed by a tour of the manager�s farm in the afternoon.

Day 3: New Year�s Eve

So on this day, I had been sick for over a week (I have been traveling in Peru on my own since Dec 17th) and the doctor came to see me and diagnosed me with dysentery. Yuck! So I layed in bed all day while the other students got a tour of town and the first lecture. I will be on antibiotics this week. I went out for a little bit for New Year�s Eve before retiring early. The locals have a tradition of making dolls out of their old clothes and burning them at midnight. Here is a group of...

Day 2: Grounds Tour

Our first official whole day in Lamas, Peru commenced with a wonderful breakfast and then a grounds tour. This is Frederique's house where half of us are staying upstairs. As you can see, they are still completing the construction....

Day 1: Arriving and Settling In

At the Tarapoto airport, we were greeted by Prof Frederique Apffel-Marglin. She informed us that first we must get money and exchange it in Tarapoto, then buy rain boots in town. With over 30 of us, this took quite a long time. Many people were exhausted from their long flights that morning. Our welcome feast!

Day 0: Waiting at the Airport

When I flew from Juliaca to Lima on Friday Dec 28th, the remaining students did not arrive for another 6 to 7 hours. Angela, the program's travel agent, and I played chess, ate ice cream, and drank wine. Angela doesn�t speek English so this was a challenge but I had to practice my Spanish. We stayed at a hotel in Lima that night and flew to Tarapoto the next day....

Hello from Lamas!

The program began yesterday! I have so much to say but actually, I have only a few minutes at this internet spot in Lamas, Peru before we must head back. There is no internet on site which is disappointing but apparently there may be intenet by the end of the week. When I connected my camera to this computer, it froze so I will try a different internet spot tomorrow (hopefully). I am very excited to start the program! It has been fun meeting everyone and discussing fair trade with Noah...

Let Me Introduce Myself

I have a final today for which I need to be studying right now. However, it seems like a good time for a blog post. Name=Alison Sun Sign=Capricorn Activities I enjoy=outdoor activities(hiking and gardening mostly),...

The end of a semester, the start of an adventure

Eclipsing the exciting and much anticipated release of Lost: Season 3 on DVD today is the fact that I will be leaving for Peru in less than a week. I will be traveling to the usual tourist haunts: Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Puno, and Lake Titicaca. Following this travel I will fly to the tropical highlands of Peru to study �Fair Trade and Bio-Cultural Regeneration� through a...