Wow… what a week it has been. After two trips to the community of Ccachin, I think
it is safe to say that quite a lot has been accomplished. While the most tangible
accomplishment is certainly the groundbreaking of two new greenhouses, it seems
as though many of the intangibles have been just as impressive. For example, the
bond that instantly formed between the students of Carmel High and Ccachin may
turn out being just as sustainable as the actual greenhouse project. This, along
with working together to carry bricks and rocks, shoveling, laughing, dancing and
singing, I think the only way it could have gone better is if we would have had
more time to spend together in the community. While leaving was emotional for
everybody, the good news is that we are already brainstorming for next summer’s
project.

Thank you Carmel High for being such an integral part of our project in Ccachin. We
had so much fun working with and getting to know you all. All of us with Team Peru
and the Andean Alliance are super excited to see where this road is going to take us,
and we’re certainly looking forward to the next “Peru Project” experience! ~Adam

Well Team Peru and Carmel High School have certainly hit the ground running. It’s
been one week since their arrival and we’ve been having a blast! Over the past six
months this group of 15 students from CHS raised $6,000 to sponsor a greenhouse
in Ccachin, and now they are here in Peru to help make it happen! They’ve spent
their first week getting accustomed to the Peruvian culture, foods, and especially
the altitude. We went to Macchu Pichu, visited some of the historical sites around
Cusco, and explored all kinds of foods and restaurants. Now that most of the
touristy stuff is out of the way, its time for them to get down to business and get
some dirt under their fingernails!

Check back soon to hear about our first trip out to Ccachin… ~Adam

Aaron and Adam meeting up with Professor Alfredo Ortiz in Lima

Just got to Cusco and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it. We finally graduated and
got our masters degree, so now we can really focus on developing our organization
this summer and after. Its pretty crazy to think about what we are able to
accomplish out here in Peru while simultaneously juggling a full graduate school
experience… hopefully that’s a good sign for what’s to come next.

I have a good feeling about this summer. We’ve got the high school students coming
out to volunteer for two weeks and help construct the greenhouse that they raised
over $6,000 for, we’ve got a team of 5 MBA students coming down to help us figure
out the best way for our organization to generate revenue, and we’ve got a total of
15 graduate (or recent graduate) students coming to work on greenhouse projects,
an NGO network, gender empowerment, and whatever else comes our way!

We’re going to do our best to document what we do via blog, video, and other types
of social media, so if you’re reading this right now, stay posted for what should be an
incredible and impactful few months! ~Adam