Asociación Montefino is an integral farm, this means that they ensure ecological sustainability and increase economic resilience through the integration of economic, ecologic, environment and productive factors. It’s located in the mountains of Peru, 3800m above sea level and has 25 employees. The farm produces dairy products, greenhouse crops and Andean crops. They also raise small animals and provide training for young entrepreneurs from the Ayacucho region. They follow the UN SDG’s to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030.

Within a group of 4 to 6 Belgian students you will work close together with the Montefino team to help the farm out. This includes creating a field for the animals, creating a brick house, help with the biodigesters and work on agrotourism projects. Of course, you will also meet the young entrepreneurs that they are training and learn from each other.

Working on agrotourism can go from website building, marketing or project coordination. Help with biodigesters to create sustainable energy (biogas) can go from placing and installing them to filling them up. All of this will be done under guidance of Montefino workers, so don’t worry if all of this sounds foreign to you.

Having some knowledge about marketing, economics, biochemistry or engineering would help, but in the end, everyone is there to learn and help. Your knowledge and experience might help them out in a way that no one could ever have expected!

Earlier students that have worked on the Montefino project have increased the profitability of the farm, by improving the management of the natural resources & expanding and diversifying the income sources by implementing agrotourism. Furthermore, they’ve also worked on a new project with guinea pig manure and developed their own biodigesters with materials they found on the local markets. You can use their experience and work to expand on this or come with a whole new project! There’s a lot of freedom to be creative, as long as it fits within their sustainable development goals, the sky is the limit!