Garden Wall and Community Soccer Field

The mission of The Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development (AASD) is to harness collective intelligence to support community led development in the highlands of Peru. This means connecting farmers and communities to resources and capacity building to support their development, whether it’s from the national government or organizations like Surf For Life.

In 2009, the AASD began designing and implementing school garden and greenhouse projects to address malnutrition in these high-altitude, isolated communities. In 2012, the AASD implemented the first family greenhouse project, which put the tools for fresh veggies in the hands of individual families. Since 2014, they have been working alongside the national school lunch program to consult and support the development of a national school garden initiative.

They continue to support, improve, and expand these initiatives through experiential learning programs. They believe that responsibly designed intercultural exchanges must focus on listening and responding to community identified needs, and that this process can result in mutual growth and development. The AASD works with all levels of academia to design and facilitate learning programs that impact communities and visitors, from high-level research with graduate students to service learning programs.

In the community of Sacclio, an informal agriculture school and demonstration farm has been spreading an organic agricultural revolution for over a decade. Locally created and run, the Nina Cusiyupanqui Family Farm provides agricultural extension classes and workshops in a manner that aligns with customary methods of education found in Andean Communities.

In partnership with the Nina Cusiyupanqui Family Farm and the Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development, we will continue to support the EcoHuella farmer field school with the construction of a wall that will serve as a barrier to protect the plants, microbes and insects from dangerous chemicals used by adjacent farms. These contaminants impact the organic seeds that are saved from the farm and distributed to community. The project may include preparing mud mortar, carrying and laying adobe bricks, and installing roof tiles on top of the wall.

For part of our time we will work in the high-altitude community of Huamanchoque, a tight-knit campesino (farming) community. Here, we will help improve their existing soccer field, to one of pride, and something the community is extremely excited about and ready to work side-by-side with volunteers. The football (soccer) field is an important space enjoyed by all community members, especially the youth, who often have few other entertainment options. Other than football, the space is used to host community events, festivals, and more. Surf For Life volunteers will help to lay sod and install fencing.