Coya

Coya is a small village in the Sacred Valley, one hour from Cusco. In Coya are living about 3000 people, mostly farmers who live from their own land. Life is simple, people do not have much, but live peacefully with their families and their animals.

In Coya there is a nursery (40 children), a primary school (250 children) and a secondary school. All children from the village and the villages around Coya go to school here in the mornings.
The schools and the nursery need volunteers. At the nursery the volunteer helps with the daily activities and gives English lessons. These small children can learn the basic concepts of the English language. At the primary and high school there is a great need for people who can teach English..

In the afternoons the volunteer can organize activities for the children of the village in a cultural center. This center runs solely on volunteers, which means that if there are no volunteers in Coya, there are no activities in the cultural center. One of the families in the village has a space available for the cultural center for approximately 20 to 30 children. The activities the volunteer organizes in the cultural center are completely of your choice, using your qualities. Theater, music, language lessons, geography, use your imagination, anything is possible!

If you are interested to do volunteer work in Coya you have several options in terms of housing:

1.- Local family in Coya: When you choose to live with a local family in the village of Coya, you will live in conditions which are a bit more basic than in the city of Cusco. You will have your own room in the house of the family and also 3 meals a day. The volunteer will be a part of the family and take part in their activities.

2.- Local Family Coya Extra: This family lives on the edge of the village, next to the nursery. The family consists of the parents and four children. They have built some rooms in their house for foreign volunteers and other people who are interested. When you live here, you really are part of the family, you use the meals with them, help with cooking (and learn Peruvian cooking on a wood fire!) and participates in family activities. The profession of the father of the family is making music instruments; he has his workshop at home. For the volunteer who is interested in this, it is possible to make your own instrument under supervision.

And learning to play your own instrument of course! Apart from making musical instruments, the father of the family has a lot of knowledge of the traditions of the region, use of plants and herbs and would like to share with his guests.
If you opt for accommodation in this family, this means that the costs are higher then when you live with a traditional host family. This family works with certain costs, which we have to proceed. One week stay at this home stay costs 180 USDollar.
See more details in the Homestay in Peru section

3.- Hostel in Coya: If you want to work in Coya and don't want to travel from Cusco everyday and you want an accommodation which is more independent, than you can choose for the option to live in a hostel in Coya. This hostel is basic, you will have your own room and shared bathroom. You have the options to use the meals in the hostel or elsewhere in the village.

4.- Host family in Cusco: When you want to work in Coya in the schools and the cultural center, but you prefer to stay with your host family in Cusco, of course this is possible as well. You'll travel everyday in the morning from Cusco to Coya and return to Cusco in the afternoon. At midday you can join for lunch in one of the families, or have lunch in one of the small restaurants in the village.

Workdays: Monday to Friday, from 9.00h - 13.00 in the schools, from 14.00h - 17.00 in the cultural center
Kind of people to work with: Children aged from 2 to 16 years
Spanish level: Basic
Minimum availability: 2 weeks