Privado: Ecological Engineering in Cuzco

Schedule

The course will be held twice a year, in June and July.

Week 1

Renewable energy: Solar water heating systems, electrification with solar energy systems (photovoltaic panels). Solar energy concentration and his applications.

Management of crops: Management of organic gardens (crop seedlings, harvesting and maintenance)

Week 2

Knowledge of tea and its traditional processing: harvest of tea, current firewood tea processing, activities of processes: withering, fermentation, drying, classification, and packing. Everything will take place at the Herbi tea factory.

Implementation of a solar tea factory: processing of black and green tea in the new plant of linear solar parabolic concentrators, elaboration of different processes to differentiate the quality among them.

Management of crops: Crop seedlings, harvesting and maintenance of tea plants.

Week 3

Knowledge of coffee and traditional processing: harvest of coffee, current processing of solar drying processes activities: pulp removal, drying, and packing.

Implementation of a traditional coffee processing factory: Coffee processing in Scheffler-type solar concentrator, elaboration of different processes to differentiate the quality among them.

Management of crops: Crop seedlings, harvesting and maintenance of coffee plants. Cacao crop seedlings, harvesting and maintenance.

Week 4

Renewable energy: Systems for rural electrification with waterwheels. Rural pumping systems: norias, ram pumps, rope pumps, solar pumps.

Management of Crops: Management of Organic gardens: crop seedlings, harvesting and maintenance.

Complementary Activities

The Granja Ecológica PUCP is located 3 hours away from the ruins of Machu Picchu and 5 hours away from the city of Cuzco. On weekends, students can visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas, the ruins of Ollantaytambo and Pisac to learn about the Andean cultivation of corn, potato, yuca, etc. They can also visit some villages in the jungle, as Quillabamba and Echarate, where they can find native products such as tea, coffee, cacao, coca, tobacco, unkucha, etc., as well as the natural habitat of certain birds such as Andean cocks-of-the-rock, toucans, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, parrots, etc.

In the town of Huyro there are two typical festivals: the Huyro anniversary, celebrated on June 19 and Virgen del Carmen (or Mamacha Carmen) festival, on July 16 and 17. On these dates, students will have the opportunity to participate in dances, try typical food and learn more about the different traditions of the area.