Empowerment in Peru
This summer of 2017 I had a chance to travel to South America, specifically to Peru, with financial support of my home university. As I had chosen my master thesis focused on women´s empowerment in the Peruvian Amazon, I went there to collect my data to finish my research. I spent there almost three months. After my arrival to capital city – Lima- I was warmly welcomed by the professors of Universidad Nacional Agraria la Molina, who introduced me to the unique Peruvian culture and provided me with contacts and new information. After my stay in Lima, I started my big adventure in the Peruvian Amazon, in a city of Chazuta, where my research took place. I had had many expectations, but my expectation were surpassed.
I arrived to city that is surrounded by wild nature of the jungle and is situated right next to a big river. I had an accommodation in a local family that produces organic chocolate and offers services of. In my free time I learnt how to process chocolates, I visited beautiful landscapes with waterfalls, but also I had a chance to see on real head epxerience agriculture practices. I felt part of the community and thanks to the family I was able to finish my data collection. My family helped to find women, who filled in my questionarries and also introduced me to the director of the biggest cocoa cooperative in the area. As it is very typical for Peruvian people they took a responsibility of me and took me to all remote area of cocoa farms and introduced me to farmers and their women. One strong memory stayed in my mind. Waking up at 5 am, riding a motorcycle with a member of cooperative to a local boat harbor, watching sun rise on the river, being welcomed by a local farmers in remote cocoa farms, talking with women about their problems and arriving home with full bag of fresh oranges and cocoa fruits.
Thanks to the support of my university, especially of my FTZ faculty I was able to collect my data and had an unforgattable experience of my life. My task was to analyze empowerment of Peruvian women, but after all I realized, it has had empowering effect on me.
