The Otra Cosa Network is a community-based NGO, based in Huanchaco, Peru, with all charitable endeavours aimed towards propagating and enabling the coastal town and its population. Being a community-based organisation, an integral aspect of the charity’s efficacy is a combination of local and international volunteers. This allows for educational and social projects to be designed with the community’s needs in mind. This included beach cleans and after-school classes in the informal settlement of Cerrito de la Virgen.
The initial project I came to the Laidlaw Foundation with was designed to bring a greater archaeological appreciation to the children of the local community by creating a curriculum for an after-school class that promoted a hands-on engagement with the local history. However, this plan was adapted to adjust to the ages of the children that arrived on a weekly basis.
When I first arrived in Huanchaco, after a journey of 24 hours, I was struck by the murals decorating the walls of plots for sale contrasting with the arid desert landscape surrounding it. The vibrant culture thriving in the desert was only to further reveal itself to me over the next 6 weeks. After meeting the wonderful cohort of volunteers, I was introduced to ‘La Rampa’, a conjunction of small classrooms and a skate ramp built alongside a skateboarding NGO, built in the informal settlement of Cerrito. As part of my role, I assisted with classes of English and Literacy as well as running my own class dedicated to youth development and environmental education at La Rampa.
At the same time as planning my classes I was educating myself on the local culture by taking trips to the plethora of local archaeological sites such as Chan Chan, Huaca del Sol y Luna, and El Brujo, to name a few, allowing me to understand the way heritage was interacted with in Peru and to appreciate the history of settlement spanning 14,000 years. By exploring local heritage sites and talking to local volunteers I understood that Peruvian history was very much venerated and considered living by the indigenous population. This informed the way I designed my curriculum as well as making the activities accessible for children as young as five. Some activities that were undertaken included teaching about indigenous flora with a hands-on planting of the community garden. The versatility and lifecycle of typically single-use objects was explored to provide environmentally friendly craft activities which provided an insight into the multitudinous lives of objects in the archaeology of limited resource societies. The children also learned about three of the most impactful ancient cultures for the region by having treasure hunts and colouring in pictures of archaeological objects recovered from each of the respective cultures. This had the aim of providing specific details to the strong indigenous pride prevalent in the area, allowing the underprivileged children to understand the local heritage sites, and through communicating my passion for archaeology inspire careers in the heritage sector. While it was more difficult than I first assumed to make every archaeological concept accessible and engaging to a range of ages from 5-15 years it provided me with lessons in ingenuity and adaptability.
The overall project impacts were to provide short-term social remediation for the local area through projects including the beach cleans and to assist with the development of children living in the informal settlement providing them with lifelong learning that will hopefully assist them in future pursuits as well as providing an enjoyable pastime in the short-term.
For my 6 weeks in Huanchaco I was part of a vibrant and caring community that was wholly welcoming and filled with an ingratiating unity. Despite my subpar use of Spanish and being the tallest person in any room I went into I was greeted with nothing but hospitality.
The life of the town is centred around the beach where seals, surfing, salsa dancing, and beautiful sunsets bring the community together every night. Even though I arrived alone several thousand miles from home I left unable to walk across the town without many conversations with locals who were kind enough to become my friends and the company of the affectionate street dogs.
I wholeheartedly recommend the Otra Cosa Network and Huanchaco to anyone who is privileged enough to have the chance to experience so much friendship in such a small place.