About Renewable Energy Internship

The benefits of taking part in our programme are listed below:
- Gain unmatchable personal and professional hands-on experience working with a sustainabilty NGO
- Work alongside experienced & passionate professionals from a wide range of fields
- Enhance your CV and stand from the crowd - Live and work in a north Peru surfing hot-spot
- Open to all disciplines, ideal for those interested in international and sustainable development

Early in 2016, EcoSwell installed a state-of-the-art photovoltaic energy system at the Community Hall of the Lobitos Artisanal Fishermen's Association, as one of the objectives of a successful crowdfunding campaign. The setup is made up of two solar panels of 600W (300W each), four maintenance-free deep cycle use rechargeable batteries of 12V and 100Ah (20 hours) and a smart multi-function inverter/charger of 2.4kW and 24/220V. This system is currently powering the Community Hall in the middle of the Primavera neighbourhood, the main fishermen's neighbourhood in Lobitos. As a result, the Community Hall has turned into a centre where the inhabitants can access free, clean and renewable energy, especially during the occasional blackouts from the grid which unfortunately happen in Lobitos. The project has also reduced the Fishermen Association's electricity bill, greatly reducing their operating costs and generating important savings for the organization. However, the installed system can handle up to 2.4kW of load and it is currently running with idle capacity (only 10-20% of power is used). This project can keep improving and there are several activities in which the intern could get involved with, including: - Designing and implementing energy systems for use of this idle capacity in benefit of the Fishermen Association (eg: powering equipment that adds economic value to the local fish catch, powering a solar distiller for desalinization of seawater for the community, powering equipment that generates other revenue streams for the fishermen, etc.) - Obtain energy-usage data from the inverter in order to calculate and produce CO2 emissions reductions reports from the use of clean energy instead of the grid. - Designing and implementing any add-ons or improvements to the existing system - Research into, scope, design and implement, a mixed system by adding a wind energy component (eg: wind turbines) so as to diversify the dependency on different renewable energy sources. Project Impact - The main proportion of inhabitants in Lobitos are fishermen or belong to fishermen families. Their income largely depends on their artisanal fishing activity. The idea of having this renewable energy setup at their Community Hall is to strengthen the Fishermen Association so that they can be more productive/efficient and add more economic value to their local catch, instead of just selling it right away as they catch it to market middlemen.
Average daily cost description

- Comfortable accommodation throughout your stay at the EcoSwell House with an office workplace and resources, fully-equipped kitchen, shared-bathroom and shared-bedroom depending on the amount of volunteers at a time, access to clean water, electricity and internet 99% of the time.

- Food (delicious, plentiful and healthy), we cover all your meals throughout your stay with us at the EcoSwell House (any meals you may have in restaurants are not included).

- Pre-departure logistics organisation and guidance.

- Transport within Lobitos and airport pickup from Talara.

- Constant one-on-one guidance and technical support from the bilingual (English & Spanish) EcoSwell Directors team to ensure positive work results.

- Firsthand experience on running a sustainable development NGO in a developing country - we are a small, dedicated team and you will be involved in decision-making processes with us since day one.

- Facilitation of local contacts, including community leaders and inhabitants, organizations, local government, universities, businesses and institutions.

- Vivential experience with the local population, constantly engaging the local community.

- Submergence into the EcoSwell lifestyle: daily world class surfing (all levels - surfing lessons and equipment rentals not included), exploring new beaches, yoga, library access, baking/cooking, personal development within other fun activities.

- Other activities, such as swimming with wild turtles, artisanal open sea fishing with local fishermen, within others are affordable and can be arranged but are not included in the programme.

*we require volunteers to stay with us for at least two weeks.


Accomodation info

Our accommodation has been rated as being very comfortable by our volunteers in comparison to what is available in the rest of the town.

We have an office workplace with office resources and large kitchen. You will have access to a shared bathroom and shower. We have a chill-out living room with a DVD player and cable TV (although you will probably find that you won't use it with all the other activities that we have going on - except for when Game of Thrones is on).

Depending on the number of volunteers you could have a room for yourself or share with another volunteer.

You'll have a fan in your room and clean bed sheets.

We have running water in the house and electricity, although sometimes there are power cuts throughout the entire town (these can last between 15 minutes to a day).


Costs

Starts from $465 per week and includes all of what has been listed above as well as a $635 donation required for the position. Bank transfer costs are also included. Cost per week drops the longer volunteer interns stay with us.

Two weeks (price per week $465) = $930
Three weeks (price per week $457) = $1,371
Four weeks (price per week $457) = $1,828
Five weeks (price per week $444) = $2,220
Eight weeks (price per week $444) = $3,552
12 weeks (price per week $402) = $5,076

Application Process

1. Submit your application by filling out the Application form and Proposal Form that is in the GiveGab "Documents" section and email them to [email protected]
2. EcoSwell will respond to your online application within 72 hours and send you an email confirming the receipt of your application.