Learning and Service Journey into Amazonia

  Peru

• All Other Areas in Peru: 
Iquitos

Term: Throughout the year 

Description: This program is designed for students who would like experience life in the Amazon while working in service learning fieldwork. While taking a course about cultures of the Amazon basin students will do volunteer work in Iquitos and nearby riverine peasant and indigenous communities on the Amazon, Nanay and Itaya rivers.

In addition to classes and activities conducted by FSU faculty, students participate in the daily life of Iquitenos by living in homestays and simultaneously learning from specialized Peruvian professionals who will present an overview of important topics related to culture and development in the region: indigenous cultures, health and medical issues, ethnobotany, forestry and sustainable practices and the cultural arts. Students travel frequently by boat in the Amazon and Nanay rivers to visit local communities.

Excursions likely include a two day visit to the local village of Padre Cocha where students will see a butterfly garden and a Kukama language maintenance school, as well as a three day group excursion to San Rafael, a village sustained by ecotourism, 2½ hours down the Amazon River with a primary forest that has never been cut. The highlight of this program is a 5 day visit to the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve which is the largest protected area of Perú and the second largest in the entire Amazon basin. Its 5,137,000 acres of unchanged and protected forest make the lives of myriads of species possible. In Pacaya-Samiria students learn about forest and riverine peoples who have a more interdependent relationship with plants, animals and their environment through sustainable practices of fishing, hunting and cultivating their plot gardens.

Eligibility
This program is open to all students. Students must have a basic knowledge of Spanish.

Housing
Students will stay with selected Peruvian families.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to American Participants.

Application Process Involves:

• Other
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

Florida State University International Programs's Mission Statement: The Florida State University International Programs is committed to providing a quality international learning environment where students are challenged to be learners, leaders, achievers and contributors within a global community. In the twenty-first century students must be able to understand and perceive global change, and we are dedicated to exposing them to international cultures, lifestyles and languages.

Year Founded: 1957