About the Organization
You'll be with family

Juan Carlos and Anne personally design and lead all Peru 109 trips. From your first email to your departure from the Lima airport, the Olivos and their local staff team will be there. They don't hire outside agencies to manage or supervise your trip -- they take great pride in their organization and will get to know you personally. For this reason, Juan Carlos and/or Anne lives in the same neighborhood as the volunteers and can be reached 24 hours a day for the entire length of your volunteer placement. They are on-site with you every day as your team creates their session's projects. And to help you integrate into your host community and your project team, the Olivos organize evening and weekend tourism and cultural activities. With Peru 109, you will always know that you have personal support, day or night! .

Every Peru 109 trip is made of up a unique team of volunteers from all over the world -- including you! You'll find that you have a few things in common with your teammates: the desire to make community change, the desire to travel, the desire to challenge yourself. The staff of Peru 109 believes that the success of each trip is largely determined by the team's ability to work together. For this reason, each trip includes a team-building component upon and/or before arrival to your Peru 109 service site. Your teammates, along with the Peru 109 staff, will be an important part of your personal support system during your time abroad. You are an important part of our family! .

  About the Country
Peru, Land of the Incas

Peru has it all! You can sandboard or surf and sunbathe on the beaches of the Pacific Coast, explore the wildlife and tropical climate of the Amazon Jungle, rockclimb and hike through the Andes Mountains, and visit ancient Incan ruins. There is an endless amount of exploration that you will want to take advantage of. With three distinct regions, each proud of their unique heritage, customs, language, celebrations, and community structure.

Peru is known for many of it's tasty local delicacies, which include plates such as ceviche (lemon-cooked fish), picante de cuy (fried guinea pig), and pachamanca (meat cooked in the Incan tradition with hot rocks in the earth). Peru also boasts it's cultivation of over 3,000 different types of potatoes, produced in over 70 different microclimates across the country. Peru has riches beyond your imagination!

Peru's population is about 27 million, with one third of that population claiming the capital city of Lima as it's home. Neighboring countries include Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile, which can be reached by flight or bus from Peru.