Come for the Waves, Stay for the People
With my time here at EcoSwell almost over, I’m looking back over the past month and thinking about all the amazing things I’ve had the chance to be involved in, and the wonderful people I’ve met.
Before I came here, my only knowledge of Lobitos had been the short description written in my lonely planet guide for Peru, which reads:
“Set around a desolate bay, Lobitos at first glance looks like the site of some post industrial apocalypse, with the shells of abandoned houses sharing space with rusted pump jacks that hammer away like a horde of lost mani-Nero cats, and with abandoned offshore platforms in the distance. So why visit? Waves, of course”
I think one of the main lessons I learned during my time here was never judge a book by its cover - or that description. Along with the other volunteers at EcoSwell, I discovered a very different, wonderful side to Lobitos. One of the best things about the internship for me was being able to live here and meet the amazing people in the community, whilst also having some of THE BEST seafood I’ve ever tasted.
We went on a fishing trip on my second day here, and were lucky enough to see two humpback whales, jumping out of the water, whilst enjoying freshly caught ceviche which the fishermen had somehow made while we were all being thrown around the boat by the waves. Luckily I didn’t eat breakfast before. Phew.
We went cave exploring on horseback, sang karaoke all night at Nafrugo bar, had movie nights, played beach volleyball, made a bonfire on the beach, watched the sunset at La Casona hostel, had lunchtime swims and surfed of course. The guide was right about the waves, at least. Also so. Many. Dogs. Everywhere. Including the bar??!
This was all amazing, but I think the things I enjoyed most whilst working for EcoSwell was how involved we were in the projects, and how much I learned through this internship without even realising, about how to make a project have a lasting impact and actually really help the people in the community.
“Living in the community and seeing how involved the community leaders are in the projects made me realise why the work here is so effective: we work with the community, not for the community.”
One of the highlights of the experience for me was the visit to Talara Medical Centre as part of the project to implement an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system there to reduce the impacts of blackouts on vaccine supply and other key services. We had the opportunity to speak directly to the head doctor who toured us around the centre in full - including the roof! It was a unique experience to see the centre first hand and discuss with the doctor which areas he felt needed support, and immediately I felt how the project would be driven not only by EcoSwell, but also the community support.
During my time here I’ve had the opportunity to work on multiple projects in all sorts of fields: innovating and creating new designs, coming up with technical solutions to problems whilst also learning about managing a project and dealing with challenges that come up. I’ve loved doing more to live sustainably at EcoHouse and have been able to recognise and change some of my own habits through being here, and have learned so much from my fellow volunteers.
I am now at end of my time here and all I can say is that if you’re considering this internship, I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve learned so much beyond the work alone. My top tips for anyone coming would be: Learn some Spanish (trust me, it helps!), and do as much as you possibly can while you’re here - time flies!
Chau Lobitos!
Neha :)
