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Traveling to Peru allowed me to have a unique cultural experience. During the trip we visited many local Incan ruins, which were built by the Incans’ innovative engineering practices. These ruins were strategically built, usually on top of mountains, with a lot of thought put into every element, such as the placement of each one of the temples. Another enjoyable aspect of Peru was the alpacas, which provided soft clothing and were sometimes seen wandering around the archaeological sites. The local people in Peru were very kind throughout the whole trip; one of the families even allowed us to eat in their home twice while we were there, which was a memorable experience.

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For the project, we were building cook stoves using local bricks, plates, and mud. The mud was made mostly from dirt, water, and hay, but it sometimes also contained whatever else was lying around, like animal hair. The place we were building was in a town called Huaran that was about an hour and a half bus ride from the hotel. The organization that set up the project had people that were very helpful and friendly on site, teaching and assisting us in building the stoves. The local people who were receiving the stoves were very thankful for our efforts to build them. On one of the project days, my group was working on building a stove outside and the man who owned the house came out and helped with various tasks because he was thankful and excited for the new stove. He would bring us more mud when we were running low or find us tools to help make the job easier. When we finished constructing the stove, he planned to build his kitchen around it. This project was a very rewarding experience that allowed me to make a contribution that will hopefully last many years to multiple families living in a community in Peru.