Before you apply, please read through carefully about the projects you are most interested in. This application form helps us to coordinate your preferred volunteer stay appropriately according to skills, interest and availability. After you have carefully thought it over and you are ready to make the commitment, you can fill out the application. We cannot place you without the completed application form. Please also feel free to include in an e-mail any questions you may have.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Life in Peru is fairly cheap compared to living in most western countries. To give an idea, you could get by with basic accommodation and reasonable food at cheaper restaurants for less than S/.1,000 (€256/US$285/£200) per month with not much going out. For S/.1,500 per month (€384/US$428/£300) you can live somewhere nice, eat quite well and go out to the cheaper bars more regularly (but not afford to get drunk every night – remember you do have a project to work on next morning!) So, you can see that compared with almost all western countries, living is cheap here, once you get here, so longer stays do work out much better value and help the projects you volunteer at more.

You can get to Trujillo from Lima by bus or plane. Once in Trujillo, Huanchaco is a short bus or taxi ride away.

The bus journey from Lima to Trujillo takes around 9 hours and costs about 50-100 Soles. We recommend ITTSA bus company which had proved safe, reliable, and punctual. You can travel by day or overnight on comfortable and spacious sleeper buses. You can buy your ticket online on https://www.ittsabus.com/

To contact ITTSA bus company call Lima (++44) (0) (1) 3321665. (ask us if you need any assistance with booking this).

Alternatively other safe, reliable companies, but in our experience not so punctual are Cruz del Sur or Linea. Their web-sites are http://www.cruzdelsur.com.pe/inicio_2.php and www.transporteslinea.com.pe/

To reach Trujillo from Lima by plane, it only takes 45 minutes, but will usually cost US$100+ one-way, although you can sometimes get some good offers on line with www.lan.com. You need to decide given your budget, but most volunteers find the bus OK especially if you get a comfortable seat.

Once in Trujillo we will pick you up with our trusted taxi driver. Please let us know your arrival details a week in advance so that we can arrange for your pick-up.

There are lots of places to choose from in Lima. We recommend Flying Dog Hostel in Miraflores (http://www.flyingdogperu.com/), which is an affordable backpackers hostel in one of the most central and lively neighborhoods of Lima. They also provide a pick-up service from the airport in exchange for a small fee.

Not necessarily, it depends on the project you will be working at. Each project has its own demands on Spanish speaking skills, from none to fluent. Check your preferred project for details. Also, if you want to or need to improve your spanish level, Otra Cosa Network can help arrange affordable 1:1 Spanish lessons with a local spanish teacher.

The partner projects are independent projects run by other organisations or governmental bodies that are in need of the support of volunteers but may not be able to find enough qualified volunteers on their own. The HELP projects on the other hand are projects that Otra Cosa Network started running after seeing a certain need and demand in the local communities, and are managed and run completely by OCN staff and volunteers.

Otra Cosa Network relies on the donations from our volunteers to fund our operating activities as well as two grants, fundraising efforts and donations to run our five HELP programmes. We have three full time staff members in Peru, who work for Peruvian living allowances, that together place volunteers in appropriate project, find their accommodation and look after them while they are here in Peru. They also manage and run our five HELP programmes, look after our partner relationships, do fundraising and grant research, and oversee our marketing and recruitment. Additionally, we have two part-time people in the UK, who work for UK minimum wage, looking after promotion to recruit more volunteers and develop links with international partners. Further costs come in the forms of IT, telecommunication and office expenses, legal and accounting fees, transportation, etc. Please read Support we provide for our volunteers to learn more about what you receive in exchange for the fee.

That depends on where you are from. At this page by the british consulate you can see wether you simply need a passport, return ticket, and some money to survive (and will receive a stamp and tourist visa upon arriving in Peru), or if you are required to file any paperwork for a special tourist visa: http://www.conperlondres.com/Html_Files/VISAS/tourist_visa.htm. If you are from a country that is required by Peru to have a visa, you must obtain one. This is your own responsibility to check and prepare.

Peru has no special visa for volunteers. Travelers planning to volunteer in Peru enter the country on a tourist visa and are allowed to volunteer (without receiving payment) at a charitable organization or institution for a maximum of 183 days (source: http://www.limaeasy.com/peru-info/peruvian-visa#volunteer-visa-peru Please do remember that since visa requirements regularly change, we strongly recommend that you double check the appropriate government’s visa requirements as well).

From January 2009 citizens of the EU, USA etc (see the link to the british consulate above to see the extended list of countries) can normally get a 183 day tourist visa on request upon entering Peru. There’s no charge for this, but you MUST request it when presenting your passport otherwise you will only get the standard 90/60 day visa, and once this is entered into the computerized system and your passport has been stamped, this cannot be changed.

We will ask you to provide us with your CV, your travel insurance number, a copy of your passport and a background check (due to the fact that our projects work with vulnerable individuals, including but not limited to children, we ask our volunteers to provide us with a background check to ensure that they are suitable)