During my gap year as a Master’s student of Environmental Sciences, I decided to take part in an Erasmus+ Traineeship. Because I really like Latin America, I wanted to find a way to combine my wanderlust with study and work experience. I found two organisations that were willing to collaborate with me through Erasmus. Erasmus+ and UNG granted me a generous amount of funding that made this adventure happen. I am very grateful for this life-changing opportunity on the other side of the world!
Guatemala – Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura (IMAP)
In Guatemala, I worked for 2 months at the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute near Lake Atitlán. This is a beautiful lake encircled by volcanoes and lush cloud forests (bosque nublado) full of birds, flowers, and other exotic species (yes, spiders, scorpions, and snakes too).
The center’s focus is on preserving native seeds, helping poorer communities move toward self-sufficiency, holding courses on permaculture, bioconstruction, and sustainability methods, spreading ancient cultural knowledge, and respecting and giving back to nature and society. My work was very diverse—every day was something new: planting trees, creating permaculture gardens in villages, preserving seeds, documenting plants, preparing compost, building bamboo walls… I learned to use a machete, recognize medicinal plants, and build a compost toilet. I helped at workshops held by IMAP and participated in their Mayan traditions and ceremonies.
Now to some less official stuff. I lived at the Institute, which is basically one big tropical garden with cute little eco-houses that served as classrooms, offices, and dormitories. I had a great mentor who was actually younger than me but incredibly smart and taught me a ton. They didn’t speak English, so I learned Spanish very quickly. For the first month, I was the only student living there, so after work, I was alone in this forest institute where it gets dark at 6 p.m. I did feel very safe, and I felt very connected with nature and its cycles. Since the lake is situated at about 2000m altitude, the climate isn’t too hot or humid, making it perfect for dips in the beautiful lake. With my friends from the Institute and the nearby village, we explored forests, volcanoes, and surrounding villages (we partied a little too 😉). This experience was a perfect balance between my work interests, connection with nature and myself, and simply having fun.
After this traineeship, I took one month to travel around Guatemala with my boyfriend. Even my parents came to meet me for a few days while doing their own travels. Shortly after New Year, I had to say goodbye to my Love again and embark on a new journey in Peru…
Peru – Tierra de Bosques (ecovillage project)
In Peru, I spent another 2 months in an ecovillage community living in the high jungle near Oxapampa. This rural area spans around 80 hectares of land, including native protected forest, rivers, and waterfalls. At the time, there were 9 families living there.
The idea of the project is to create a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable way of living. Each family had its own piece of land with a beautiful house made from mud, wood, and straw. They shared a communal garden, orchard, chicken area, and occasionally used spaces like a kitchen, outdoor showers, yoga/exercise platforms, etc. They held monthly organizational meetings (where work was discussed) and weekly events (birthdays!!!, yoga, art and DIY workshops, ceremonies). I mostly worked with two families who guided me in the garden, got me involved in events and organizational activities, helped me with bioconstruction, and taking care of the animals. They taught me a lot about the dynamics of community organization and the ongoing struggle for sustainability in a closed-loop system.
I lived in a small cabin that only had space for a bed, so the kitchen, shower (just a simple water hose), compost toilet, and ‘living spaces’ were all outside in the jungle. Once a week, we would go to the Oxapampa market to do our grocery shopping. Some of the residents sold their products there—natural cosmetics, sourdough bread, crafts, eggs… Other goods we picked from our gardens or made ourselves. We celebrated lots of birthdays, had visitors, workshops (I loved the forest therapy sessions), and went on little trips, camping, and more. I got to understand the workings—the ups and downs—of this lifestyle. I’m very interested in community living, so this was very valuable for me.
Of course, I also took some time to travel Peru after the traineeship, but these two opportunities left a big mark on me. I am very grateful for the privileges we get as European students. Thank you <3
I went from (very) basic Spanish to a fluent speaker by the end of my trip, so this is also a great opportunity to learn a new language.
