As part of our continuing effort to fulfill the goals of the 2012 Women of the Mountains International Conference, Carlos Alarco, UIMF International Outreach Coordinator, visited Peru during August of 2013 to build on the foundation laid at that conference.

Peru is a mountainous country located on the west coast of South America. Though its capital is the coastal city of Lima, much of the country is located within the Andes. Of particular note is Cuzco, ancient capital of the Inca. Three hours south of Cuzco is Acomayo, a town of 5500 at 3200 meters above sea level. Most of the inhabitants of Acomayo, and indeed of the region, work in agriculture, and have done so for generations.

Acomayo Terrestrial Terminal

During his time in Acomayo, Carlos met with two professors from local schools, Gregorio Delgado de la Torre, a teacher at Tomas Tito Condemayta secondary school, and Marlene Quispe Vasquez, a teacher at Daniel Alcides Carrion secondary school. They spoke about the possibility of providing additional educational content for students via the Internet. Some proposed solutions were the use of online learning spaces designed with Google or WordPress, or social media as a tool to build connections between leisure and learning.

Acomayo Centro de Salud (Medical Center)

Carlos also met with Dr. Diego Chipa Gullen of the Centro de Salud, Acomayo (Health Center). This government-funded clinic provides doctors, nurses, and specialists who treat the population in the area. While the discussions generally centered on the needs of the locals, of particular concern was access to modern birthing techniques. Many women prefer traditional birthing methods, and while in normal circumstances this is of little concern, those whose dwellings are very distant cannot benefit from assistance in times of crisis.

In the Capital City of Lima, Carlos met with Dr. Jorge Recharte, the director of the Instituto de Montana    (www.mountain.pe) to discuss possible joint projects that would forward the ends of the mountain institute. The seeds of three collaborative projects came out of this meeting: First, a set of online development activities which could be shared with the universities in the Andes regions. Second, the creation of a regular online Quechua-language radio program to promote community and cultural awareness among the people of the Andes regions and the international mountain community. Third, a project to encourage women of the Andes regions to participate more fully in the political, business, and public squares. This collaborative effort in Latin America will be an additional initiative to the activities and projects, which UVU, UIMF included, developed with its traditional partner, the Mountain Institute in Virginia, USA.

Near the end of his visit, Carlos visited the Pontifica Universidad Catolica Peruana, one of Peru’s premier and top ranked Universities, located in the San Miguel District of Lima. There he presented copies of the Sustainable Mountain Development in North America report  to the University’s Central Library.  They will add the report to their collection, and send copies to other academic institutions in Lima.  

                    Samuel Hill, President of Utah International Mountain Forum

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Sustainable Mountain Development in North America report

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