Planeterra voluntourism in Peru promotes smoke-free living

Volunteer travelers to Peru’s Sacred Valley are helping members of the Ccaccaccollo community learn how to construct clean-air adobe stoves to replace the traditional yet innefficient, unvented stoves that spew smoke into the home and create upper respiratory health problems and eye infections.

Launched in July 2009, this hands-on initiative is the latest of innovative ventures by the Planeterra community development project.

As with most Planeterra international voluntours, travelers split their time between helping the community and making cultural immersion excursions into the countryside.

Planeterra Foundation is a global non-profit dedicated to sustainable community development through travel. It was founded in 2003 by Gap Adventures, the largest independent adventure travel company in the world. Edwards is also a member of Gap Adventures’ executive management team, where he helps oversee the company’s rapid growth. Planeterra evolved out of a long history of travelers committed to finding ways to give back to the people and places they visit. Planeterra selects the projects and works with Gap Adventures to arrange voluntour travel programs.

Building lasting memories

The Ccaccaccollo project high in the Andes gives voluntourists the opportunity to not only help the community, but also participate in Project Machu Picchu, a 13-day Lima-to-Cuzco tour that includes visits to various archeological sites in the Sacred Valley.

A recent field trip brought 18 men and women to visit the Huallyabamba community, which has already begun using the adobe stoves. Experiences were shared, and the people of Ccaccollo had an opportunity to see the stoves in use. The first demonstration stoves were built in Ccaccaccollo in early August.

Workshops will then train 10 community members who will have the responsibility of overseeing construction and implementation with the help of Planeterra and Gap Adventures volunteers. Members of the health committee will act as representatives of the program and will help educate families and our volunteers on the benefits of these stoves.

Monthly departures year-round are $1,820 per person (double) for most land arrangements.

To learn more about the Stove-Building Project and how you can support it, please visit http://www.planeterra.org/pages/projects/19.php?id=25