Ciao, A Lobitos Goodbye, A Month Building A Sustainable Future In Peru

When standing on top of a mountain in the remote Peruvian jungle, it is difficult not to put life into perspective. On a crisp Saturday afternoon, this is exactly how I felt looking down upon the cavernous mountain ranges of Canchaque in Piura, Peru.

That moment was the culmination of a decision I had made almost two months earlier. In my modest room in a student house in Leamington Spa, I sat hastily banging away at my keyboard. A few years ago, it was the news that had brought on a keen interest in the damaging effects that the Climate Crisis is having, and it was the news that caused me to circle back to it.

I had found myself on the other side of the world within the space of 24 hours. And yet, I felt at home

In a small, desertified town in the North Coast of Peru exists a community like no other. Lobitos has a total of 1,800 residents. The town exists in a warm, dry climate where water is increasingly scarce. This means that essentials such as running water and electricity are much more strictly monitored. This was one of the first and most acute observations I had made when arriving in the town.

Dropping my bags in the front room of a shared house belonging to the environmental organisation, EcoSwell, I found myself on the other side of the world within the space of 24 hours. And yet, I felt at home. All of us interning with the organisation had come to make a real and profound environmental change. One of the interns aptly told me that it takes a certain kind of person to live in Peru for weeks at a time to immerse themselves in knowledge about environmental sustainability.

My boundaries and personal limits were constantly reset and tested

On Wednesday mornings at the company, we reforested the surrounding regional dry forest. This provided a rare window into a world outside of my own. In the arid climate of this region of Peru, the surrounding vegetation is highly sparse. This meant that cultivating the land was a high priority. The passion for reforestation shown by the reforestation leaders on the program was infectious. The joy I got from working in harmony with a strident and forward-thinking team dedicated to the institution of sustainable infrastructure in Lobitos was also unparalleled.

This was my first time in South America. In hindsight, the decision to journey to a completely unknown area of the globe for the mainstay of June was highly impulsive. I had done little to no research on the area before joining the company. However, in its entirety, the 17 days provided one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. My boundaries and personal limits were constantly reset and tested.

I realised later that I was the youngest intern at the company, with the majority working there after graduation. The 12 other interns provided a completely unique network of backgrounds, experiences, personalities, and intellectual capital. We quickly bonded as a family, brought on by the cohabitation of living and working in the house. We cooked together, shared stories about our vastly divergent lives back home, and shared some of the most beautiful sunsets I have had the fortune of witnessing.

The looming fear or embarrassment of trying to strike up conversations with locals, both inside and outside of work, quickly transitioned to a blossoming satisfaction

However, the greatest thing about my time at the organisation was being part of such a progressive and innovative workspace. The encouragement and self-evaluative nature in the DNA of the environmental NGO have allowed it to be particularly successful in achieving its endeavours. In envisioning a new impact report for the company, for the year 2023, I was allowed the experience of interviewing one of the members of the locality, Gladys Eca Panta, to get her verdict on the work that EcoSwell was doing.

One of my worries about going on the trip was the language barrier. With a limited Spanish proficiency, I had neglected to undertake much prior language learning before entering a community that relied solely on it. This taught me more about myself than I thought. The looming fear or embarrassment of trying to strike up conversations with locals, both inside and outside of work, quickly transitioned to a blossoming satisfaction, at watching my oral and written Spanish skills improve markedly in a short space of time. During the interview with Gladys, this allowed me to be more personal with the questions I asked her.

I also found the personality of an interviewee a lot more natural and easily unravelled when speaking to them in their native language. The opportunity to unpick the worldview of someone in a regional community across the globe, living in a way that has struggle, but also immense freedom, life, and colour, is something I am truly grateful to EcoSwell for. I know I will continue to remember that moment as I move through my journalistic career.

Having an open mind to the raft of novel experiences that came my way allowed me to make the most of every moment and leave with a sense that I had changed

Peeking behind the curtain at the tangible effects of EcoSwell’s mission, harmonising people and the surrounding environment to build a sustainable future, the beauty of the work they are doing is far more frontal and personal. Their vision is one which I both feel an inherent connection to and have a huge amount of respect for. I know that the strength of their message, the continuity and longevity of their outreach to local communities, and their expectation that interns enjoy and experience the country, personally growing while working, are what make the organisation truly unique.

The binds of empathy and a tied sense of self that each individual in the community had with each other is something I want to take back to the UK

The fact that I had no idea what to expect before I arrived in Peru is exactly what made the trip so meaningful. I know that the friends I made and the people I met at the house and beyond, in the surrounding community, will stick with me far beyond my time in Peru. Having an open mind to the raft of novel experiences that came my way allowed me to make the most of every moment and leave with a sense that I had changed as a result of having made the trip.

Though Lobitos is a highly localised and unknown town, it is one which I believe we can all learn lessons from. The binds of empathy and a tied sense of self that each individual in the community had with each other is something I want to take back to the UK. The bonds that made the fortunes and successes, misfortunes and hardships of one individual – the local handyman, gym owner, baker or cab driver the problem of the entire town. The central kinship meant the labels of brother, sister, mother, and father were applied collectively rather than just individually. The connection to nature and an ethos that the environment served the people and therefore the people had a duty to serve the environment.

Both Lobitos as a town and EcoSwell as a company, I will not soon be able to get out of my mind. Sitting in my comfortable, temperate room in London, modified exactly to my specifications; the idea that it is good to be pushed out of your comfort zone has never been more prescient. Working at a company where the physical and mental boundaries of how you think you can make an impact are tested every day, you cannot be the same after leaving. I want to thank EcoSwell for showing me how one person can make a great deal of difference in this world and allowing me to better understand myself.

We are all a product of our actions and standing upon a pivotal turning point in the world, I know this is one decision I will continue to look back to for guidance in future.