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Parpacalle Village Community Education Center
Supported by contributions and helping hands of the Jennings Family and friends from Seattle in memory of their teenage daughter, Margo.
INTRODUCTION
Parpacalle is a community which is made up of about 60 families with an average family size of 4 members. Currently, there are approximately 240 inhabitants of the community. They used to live about a three hour hike from the main road. But in the early 1980's a school was established on the valley floor below, the road was improved and finally paved about ten years ago. As a result the community as a whole decided to resettle on the valley floor, between Paccor and San Salvador. This happened in the mid-eighties, dividing up the land belonging to the community into smaller plots to respond to a more urban-oriented layout. In fact, the community landscape consists of a main trail heading uphill for about 300 meters with side trails every 100 meters (blocks). The houses of are organized perpendicular to the main road and along each side-trail (future side streets).
The climate is markedly differentiated between the high and low zones. In the high zone the climate is frigid with temperatures changing drastically between day and night. Wind chill is exacerbated by lack of vegetation. In the low zone near the base of the Urubamba Valley, the climate is more moderate, with lesser variations than those of the higher areas, although temperature extremes and short seasons still limit farming. All of the dwellings feature genuine Andean characteristics: walls of adobe, 1 or 2 levels and tile roofs. For the most part, floors are just earth; in rare occasions the floor is composed of wood and earth. Water service is available, but not dependable, although an improved water network will be installed. In the past, water was supplied directly from the stream of Llachoc. Now this service is being administered by the public organization, Joint Administrative Sanitation Service (JASS).
The main economic activity of the community is agriculture; potatoes and corn are the most common crops. Ninety-eight percent of agricultural land is small plots with only 2% used as large tracts for communal land management. Other products in the community of Parpacalle are wheat, barley, beans and the quinoa. With regards to animal stock, the traditional small scale system of grazing is extensive and utilizes a collective rotation of meadows and farmlands. After being used for agriculture, the arable lands become pasture for cattle.
The Building
The school building which was built in the mid-eighties is located at the top of a main trail (street) next to a small chapel. In the plot that contains the school, which consists of a long building with three separate rooms, there is also a TV and satellite dish which enables the locals to receive TV signals. The three rooms, which were part of a multigrade school (one-teacher for the four grades) have been vacated due to the new school located in Paccor where kids and teachers now enjoy a larger more modern installation. The existing building that was originally refurbished by Wildland Adventures and the Jennings family from Seattle, needed repairs inside and out: renewing the plaster walls, new windows and casings, the wooden floor boards were patched and required refinishing and polishing, the doors were replaced, the building painted, outside walls on the grounds re-covered in adobe and the area landscaped with native species.
The first and smallest room was converted as a virtual library with a computer and access to digital information on cds and downloaded programs. Eventually, when wireless service arrives they will have access to the internet. The second room is refurbished with tables and chairs as well as a stand for books and contains a physical library. The third room was converted to a play-art room where the kids and adults can participate in creative activities and board games. These tables and chairs are modular so they can be moved around in order that the room can accommodate multiple uses. All of the above was financed by a donation from the Jennings family and their friends, and the hands-on work this group of 24 persons did on their Wildland Adventure in Peru in memory of their teenage daughter, Margo Jennings; Margo had declaired on a life list she had prepared before her tragic death that she wanted to help third world countries.
As you enter the plot to the left there is a small adobe room which was refurbished as living quarters for the facilitator who is in charge of the center. It used to be the living quarters of the teacher who ran the school in the past.
THE PROJECT
1) Project Summary Description
Improving the quality of education building a library, study area and community center in the Parpacalle community in the Apu Pachtusan Conservation Municipality. [Apu Pachatusan means God That Holds the World in the Quechua language.]
The Instituto de Machu Picchu [IMAP] helped spearhead this project in collaboration with the community. IMAP is a local NGO whose mission is conservation, habitat restoration, and social development projects in the region around the Machu Picchu Sanctuary. This project is managed as part of the promotion and execution of sustainable development projects in Peru ecotourism, agro-ecology, handicrafts, small industry and scientific research in the region. This initiative is developed in a participative way with the communities involved, including men and women, children and teenagers of the Andean villages of Huanca and Parpacalle, together with the leadership and co-management of the Municipality of the District of San Salvador.
2) Justification and Requirements
Peru is rated among countries with the highest index of low primary and secondary education in rural areas. Even in many rural areas where education programs exist there is a substandard level of teaching and learning. One way to improve the teaching and learning methods for better quality education is to instigate the use of new and modern technology, and so that the students will develop skills in the application of information technology.
The components of a formal education require that students have access to new and diverse forms of communication and learning such as internet, virtual and computerized libraries, learning and reasoning games, and other learning technologies that are necessary for the education of children and teens. All of these things are important for the Apu Pachatusan Conservation Municipality of Parpacalle.
3) Local need for the project
Due to student dropout, poor nutrition, lack of trained teachers resources, and inadequate study environments, childhood education among these native Quechua communities is vulnerable. This is why IMAP is looking to reinforce the communities with new educational and study centers featuring improved facilities and new technologies to strengthen and reinforce the education provided in rural schools.
To guarantee an education that maintains cultural values, we need to take actions that better the lives of children and are integrated into the indigenous lifestyle and their process of learning. We need to use technologies that support existing learning processes and also introduce modern technology for enhanced learning opportunities in children and teens. New technology in the ACM community will help achieve a more modern, formal education.
4) Area of study
The project is located inside the Area de Conservacion Municipal Apu Pachatusan-ACM, within the jurisdiction of San Salvador in the community of Parpacalle. Primary attention is focused on the children and teens in the communities of Parpacalle, Pacor, Umachurcho, and Vicho. Children, parents and teachers within these jurisdictions agree that the school classroom facilities are inadequate, and that this new community center and education facility will inspire them to use a virtual library, traditional library, and other educational games and activities.
The Municipal Area of Conservation Apu Pachatusan is considered one of the most significant centers of Andean spirituality, and an important ecological region for protecting endemic wild flora and fauna species. During recent years, this territory has suffered the continuous menace of forest fires, accentuating the process of erosion and destruction of its ecosystem, as well as the loss of endemic species. This Educational and Community Center project is a part of a larger sustainable development endeavor that includes ecological restoration and municipal environmental management including education, reforestation, training, agricultural development of sustainable production and management systems. The community center also serves as a resource and gathering area within the larger context of regional development.
5) Objectives
General:
Improving the quality of education for children and teens in the community of Paracalle, Pacor, Umachurco, and Vicho.
Specific:
Strengthening the formal education received in the rural schools of Umachurco, Pacor, and Vicho, using virtual libraries, traditional libraries, learning games, and other things.
Providing more teaching materials, both for teaching children at home and at school.
Supporting modern schools with improved high quality education with the use of information systems including traditional libraries, learning materials, and computer technologies.
To equip and establish existing facilities with a competitive and modern education (including modern software) system for the community and surrounding area.
To create an inventory of computers to use for information searches, and a catalog of books for children and teens. They want to be able to monitor the advancements of the system, fix problems, maintain the equipment, and to facilitate their use by students, families and community leaders.
6) Project Completion
Result 1:
To contribute to the implementation of a virtual library in the community of Parpacalle.
A 1.1 To equip the Parpacalle community with computers.
A 1.2 To prepare a community classroom for use as a virtual library.
Result 2:
To create a study space in the library that promotes individual educational responsibility in children and teens. This has given them the opportunity to share looking for otherwise inaccessible information with the help of the teachers of the schools in Pacor, Umachurco, Vicho, and Parpacalle. This also requires excellent teaching practices and the implementation of a traditional library.
A 2.1 Create a bookshelf full of interesting books for the children and teens in the Parpacalle community center.
A 2.2 Provide an area that is used for library research and study area in the Parpacalle community center.
A 2.3 Outfit the library with teaching materials and learning games.
Result 3:
Equip the facility in a manner that allows it to support the use of computers, books, teaching materials, and teachers.
A 3.1 Create a stable process for managing the virtual library and information center with a facilitator that provides instruction for use and takes care of the computer system.
A 3.2 Hire a librarian for the traditional library. (funds still needed)
A3.3 Supply basic living necessities to the librarians so that they can complete the tasks of caring for the virtual and the traditional library.
A 3.4 Promote the participation of the community in the implementation, management, and remodeling of the rooms for a virtual library and traditional library in the Parpacalle community center.
7) Support, monitoring and evaluation of the project
Monitor and follow the project to ensure that it continues in an appropriate manner. Evaluations should be done on a monthly basis designed to advance the use of computers and library facilities for the community. The resident on-site manager will be a person in charge of overseeing the complex and orienting the users of the technology available. The person will be computer savvy, run the library and the entertainment room. S/he will also oversee and maintain (watering in the dry season) the two garden plots. An organic vegetable garden and tree seedlings will be grown there on a couple of plots financed by another project. Overall the guardian will be in charge of watching over and maintaining the infrastructure.
POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES ON DAY VISITS
On the journey to Parpacalle up the Urubamba Valley there will be a briefing on the project before arriving in the community.
On arrival, and according to the ages and how we split up the group, there will be various activities including the following general areas of work to be further elaborated before arrival:
Virtual Library (1st room)
Assist with use of computer equipment including help with downloading new computer programs guests can bring to the site, and show kids how to use them.
Physical Library (2nd room)
Help stack and sort donated books and periodicals you might bring. Help decorate related to themes of interest contained in the books available in the library, related to social studies, environment, religion, and culture.
Play room (3rd room)
Bring games to add to the collection (but ask first) and play to sit and play with the kids.
Garden Area
Help prepare and/or plant the garden and saplings from the tree nursery to help with reforestation project.
Play Yard
Bring soccer balls, frisbees and outside game ideas to enjoy playing in the field with locals, but you better be aclimatized or they will beat you at their game at high altitude!
More Information: Peru Wildland Adventures
