8.08° S · 79.12° W
One town, two very different worlds. We live in Huanchaco, a fishing and surfing town on Peru's northern coast, and most of our work happens just up the hill, in the informal settlement of Cerrito de la Virgen.
Cerrito de la Virgen
The context
Huanchaco is a relaxed, friendly town of around 5,000 people in the La Libertad region, about 12 km (15 minutes) from the city of Trujillo. It has kept its fishing-village soul: for some three thousand years, fishermen here have ridden the waves on caballitos de totora, traditional reed boats.
The case that surfing grew out of this tradition is so strong that in 2013 Huanchaco was declared a World Surfing Reserve. The district is also home to Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America.
On the outskirts of town, out of sight of the beachfront, are informal settlements home to families displaced by climate change, disaster and political instability, including migrants from the Peruvian highlands and from Venezuela.
Cerrito de la Virgen grew after the 1997–98 El Niño floods left many families homeless. Some were resettled on this arid hillside with no electricity or water, and had to rebuild their lives from scratch. Today few homes have running water or sewage, electricity is sporadic, and many children work instead of studying. There was nowhere safe to learn and play, so, together with the community, we built one.
Explore
Stylised map, not to scale. Select a pin to find out more.
Cerrito de la Virgen
Up in the hills on the edge of town, out of sight of Huanchaco's beachfront, our Rec Centre is where most of our programmes happen: English, literacy, environment and youth sessions, a concrete skate park, a classroom and a community garden.
Keep exploring
Volunteer with us in Huanchaco: teach, coach and create in Cerrito de la Virgen, then catch the sunset from the pier.
