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Patacancha is a small, rural indigenous Quechua community in the mountains above Ollantaytambo, Cusco, Peru. We are seeking dedicated volunteers to live and work there. There are a number of projects in which to participate.

Volunteers in Patacancha are encouraged to work in the small health post there or to teach computers, English and/or P.E. at the elementary school. Volunteers can also work as photographers or with the Awamaki Weaving Project (www.awamaki.org).

The Awamaki Weaving Project is based in Patacancha, where we work with a cooperative of 30 women weavers. Volunteers who wish to work in the weaving project have several different options for projects in Patacancha. Volunteers are needed to make a formal or informal ethnographic or gender roles study of the community, take a census of our weavers, write weaver profiles, and/or study the impact of our weaving project in the community. Volunteers are also welcome to decline a formal project and simply concentrate on immersing themselves in Quechua life, engaging themselves in the home economic activities of their family members – spinning, weaving, washing, cooking, tending animals, and agricultural work.

Spanish is helpful but by no means necessary. Quechua is the primary language spoken, and most women and older people are monolingual Quechua speakers. Men and children speak some Spanish. Basic Spanish necessary for work at the high school, and a longer stay necessary for the ethnographic study.

Volunteers are welcome to come with a friend or significant other.

ACCOMMODATIONS, AMENITIES AND COSTS

A homestay is an integral part of this placement, and much of what you experience and take away from this volunteer placement will be from your family. Living in a homestay, you will be able to immerse yourself in rural Quechua life. From your host mother and sisters, you can learn to spin raw wool, dye the spun yarn with plant dyes, and weave on the traditional Andean backstrap loom; with your host father and siblings, you will climb the towering mountains above the community to move the grazing alpaca or bring in the cows. You will participate in your family’s agricultural life as well, planting, tending or harvesting potatoes, beans, quinoa and maize according to the season. Living with a family, you will learn Quechua, become part of community life, and immerse yourself in the indigenous culture of the Andes. Our families are screened, interviewed and trained in hosting volunteers. Our staff works closely with these families and knows them well. Usually at least one family member is in our weaving cooperative.

Expect rustic living conditions in Patacancha. Your family members may use a latrine toilet, and bathe from a bucket. (There are flush toilets and showers in some homes, however.) Expect to eat a lot of potatoes, beans and soup; meat is infrequent in the Andean diet. Please let us know if you have dietary restrictions or allergies, special accommodations are possible but we would have to check. You will have a bed and a private room.

There is one community phone in Patacancha, and occasional satellite internet access at the elementary school. There is no cell phone service in Patacancha, only Nextel and satellite phone.

We request a one-time donation of $550 from volunteers for this placement. This donation covers your first month of full room and board in your homestay, transportation to the community, weaving lessons and materials, and necessary materials for your project in the community. It also covers the expenses that our organization incurs in hosting volunteers and running the volunteer program. After the first month, volunteers are responsible for their own homestay costs, at $200 per month. Prorated by week if your stay is shorter.

If you strongly prefer to live independently of a family, alternative accommodations may be available. Please contact us for more information about this option.

SCHEDULING

Volunteer scheduling is flexible and can be full- or part-time, depending on your desires and the project you pursue. Volunteering hours can be arranged so as to give several days off in a row, which makes trips to Ollantaytambo, Machu Piccu, the Sacred Valley, and Cusco possible. Ollantaytambo is a day trip away and volunteers living in Patacancha frequently elect to visit once a week to shower, take care of internet and phone calls home, socialize with other volunteers, eat in a restaurant, etc. We suggest that you plan longer trips for the beginning or end of your stay, so as to avoid disrupting the process of your cultural immersion in the community.

Please email us at volunteer@awamaki.org, including area of interest, any relevant skills and experience, anticipated dates and length of stay, emergency contact information, and any dietary restrictions.

We ask that volunteers arrive on a Friday and stay for at least one month.