Community Education Internship

Awamaki is a Peruvian and a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to promote community development in Ollantaytambo, Cusco, Peru. Awamaki works to provide the skills, training, and access to market necessary for women and rural families to earn an income to lift themselves out of poverty. Our programs include fair trade women's crafts cooperatives, sustainable tourism and community education. For more information, see http://awamaki.org/about/.

Interning or volunteering with Awamaki is a valuable experience for anyone interested in a career in international development or social enterprise. We rely on volunteers' fresh ideas and skillset to constantly improve and expand our programs, and in return, we give our volunteers a high level of autonomy and responsibility over their individual projects. Because of this, volunteers are required to commit to a minimum of 12 week and are highly encouraged to stay longer.

• Those interested in volunteering for less than three months, please check out our Service Travel program, designed for volunteers staying 3 weeks or more: http://awamaki.org/volunteer/service-travel/

General requirements for Interning with Awamaki:

• Intermediate/Advanced/Fluent Spanish, or commitment to take intensive Spanish courses at our language center to improve your proficiency.
• Minimum 12 week commitment
• Work at least 30 – 35 hours per week during their placement, including a minimum of 6 – 9 hours per week staffing Awamaki's Fair trade store in Ollantaytambo.
• Enthusiasm, resourcefulness and the ability to think on one's feet.
• Organized, efficient, and dedicated.
• Team player, sociable, excellent customer service skills.
• Adaptable and flexible to be able to work in an often-challenging environment.
• Must be able to take the initiative.

The Awamaki Internship Program

All Awamaki volunteers and interns have the opportunity to take on intensive projects and program development work during their placement. The internship program provides an additional framework for professional development while serving with Awamaki. Each intern recieves a Program Advisor who provides regular one-on-one meetings with the intern, creates measurable outcomes for the intern's project work, and provides evaluation and feedback throughout the placement. Interns may also request more specialized job descriptions for their placements that clearly outline their roles and responsibilities. We are flexile in accomodating any grant or fellowship program requirements.

Awamaki is seeking a Community Education Intern

The Education Program provides volunteers with opportunities to engage in hands-on teaching and other projects that answer the needs identified by the local community and Awamaki's cooperatives. Education volunteers have the opportunity to form meaningful relationships with students while equipping them with skills for success. You will get to know local Ollantinos, learn about their way of life, and exchange viewpoints from your respective cultures.

Most education volunteers are responsible for teaching English and computer classes to local people from Ollantaytambo who want to improve their career opportunities in the local tourism industry. Our language classes use participatory learning techniques to equip students with language skills that they can put directly into practice in their jobs and everyday lives. Volunteers with other skills and interests can get involved in a variety of ways, such as offering other classes to the community or to Awamaki's women's cooperatives on topics that volunteers are passionate about, teaching at the local Yachay Wasi preschool, supporting research for our women's cooperatives, and providing cultural education for other volunteers.

Education volunteers have a full schedule, which usually includes teaching 3 or more regular classes, performing lesson planning and curriculum development, collaborating with the Education Program Coordinator, and developing independent projects. Although shorter term opportunities may be available, volunteers who wish to act as lead English teachers must commit to a minimum of 12 weeks in order to complete at least one full English semester.

Community Education Intern Responsibilities and Potential Projects:

Teaching English and Computer Classes:

• You will plan lessons, develop a curriculum tailored to each class' specific needs, and teach 1-4 classes per week using fun, active, participatory activities. This requires of creativity and on-the-go learning, as well as an upbeat personal touch. Our teachers develop meaningful relationships with their students and get to see the results during the semester.
• From using a spacebar to opening a g-mail account- if you are reading this then chances are you have a lot to offer our computer students. You will be responsible for lesson planning and teaching of basic computer topics.

Teach classes to our women's cooperatives

• Help out our women's cooperatives by teaching capacity building classes that help the women to become independent leaders in their own sustainable businesses.
• Help develop curriculum materials in topics such as financial literacy, business management, leadership, etc. .
• Teach a subject that you are passionate about for the general enrichment of our cooperative members, whether it's nutritional cooking, women's reproductive health, yoga, etc.

Support Needs Assessment Research for our Women's Cooperatives

• For volunteers with advanced levels of Spanish, help us run focus groups, surveys, poverty assessments, etc. to collect information that will allow us to design future programs that closely reflect the women's needs.

Teach Children at the Yachay Wasi Preschool

• Yachay Wasi is an great alternative preschool with a dedicated staff, but is often pressed for resources. Volunteers can run games and creative activities, teach English, or help run extracurricular learning programs.

Support Cultural Education For Volunteers and Service Travelers

• Awamaki provides workshops for reflection and experience sharing for volunteers and service travelers. We also teach about the culture and contemporary history of Andean Peru to inform and enrich volunteer's experiences. You can help run these activities, teach lessons, and help develop our curriculum materials.

Requirements for working with Awamaki Education

• A strong interest in education and teaching and interpersonal skills for interacting with students. Teaching experience is a plus!
• Volunteers with skills and interests in a range of topics, whether in other languages, yoga, nutritional health, art, etc. are welcome to teach classes for the local community, for our cooperatives, or for the Yachay Wasi preschool in the topics they love the most!
• For needs assessment research volunteers are expected to be advanced or fluent in Spanish. Knowledge of Quechua or experience with surveys and data collection is hugely appreciated!
• To support cultural education for volunteers, experience facilitating discussion groups or a background in the Social Sciences is a plus.

Program Costs

The current Awamaki volunteer fee for 3-month and 6-month volunteers is a one-time payment made prior to arrival of $1,392. Because Awamaki is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States, most of this ($820) is considered a donation and is tax-deductible in the United States to the extent allowed by law.

As recognition of the value and importance of long-term volunteers, $700 is refunded upon completion of 6 months as an Awamaki volunteer.

The volunteer fee includes the following costs:

• Program donation fee($500 USD)This fee provides essential support for Awamaki's programs that serve the cooperatives and the community. $100 of your program donation covers any materials that volunteers may use for individual projects during their stay. The remaining balance of approximately $400 directly supports Awamaki's programs.
• Administration Fee ($320 USD)This fee compensates many of Awamaki's behind-the-scenes costs of hosting volunteers from internet bills to staff costs so that we can maintain services to enrich the volunteering and cultural immersion experience.
• Three night weaving immersion workshop in Patacancha ($200 USD) This four-day / three-night workshop in the indigenous Quechua community of Patacancha allows volunteers an irreplaceable cultural immersion experience as they learn ancestral weaving techniques from expert weavers.
• First month of homestay in Ollantaytambo ($300 USD)This fee goes directly to a local homestay family in Ollantaytambo and covers a private room in the family's house and 3 meals per day while providing an extra source of income for the family.
• Volunteer welcome and departure ($72 USD) This fee covers the cost of welcome events, departure gifts, and a pick-up from the Cusco airport