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Find out what it is really like to volunteer for WAVES. Check out what recent volunteers have to say about their experiences.

Photo thanks to: Ben Ellis

• Forest Woodward: Putting the Give Back into Your Picture Taking

  This blog post by Forest Woodward is too good not to share here on the WAVES website as well. He's a gentlemen, a scholar, and a real fun person to hang out with. Thanks for the inspiration, Forest, once again.

  Growing up, I was home-schooled by adventurous parents who, from the time we were born, exposed us to foreign cultures through travel. At the age of 10, I was handed an old Canon AE-1 and encouraged to use it as a way to explore the places to which we traveled and to engage with the people we met. Traveling, for our family, was not about a vacation from daily life, it was a journey of experiential education that fostered a cycle of openness, curiosity, and connectedness that I still carry with me today. To stay connected to the roots of where my love of photography and travel began, I find it is important to carve out time to return to communities and partner with NGOs where I can volunteer and lend my skills with the camera to help them share their stories, thus balancing time spent taking pictures with a focused effort to giving back, as well.

  Read the full article here. Want to see more from Forest's latest trip to Lobitos? Check out this post on the Audiovisual Experience.   -

• Loving the Lob - WAVES is rolling onwards

  I wanted to go to South America and I wanted to not just travel but to do something to get closer to the culture, getting insights and learning the language. And I wanted to surf. So I googled for possibilities matching my desires. I found the WAVES website and instantly liked the whole idea: Surf Voluntourism in Peru. Some further research clarified that there was and is no better alternative. So I mailed Dave Aabo (the executive director of WAVES Intl.) the application form and he was obviously happy that I was interested in doing a 3-month internship in Lobitos. That was in June... Late November, I finally arrived in Talara. Pim (WAVES volunteer coordinator) picked me up and I found myself in a screaming Mototaxi on the dusty way through Peru’s desert coastal landscape to Lobitos. When I finally got to see the whole set up I thought: "Yes, that´s what I want! And I will be here for three long months. Great." Now, 3-months later, I look back and these three long month do not seem quite that long. It flew by and was over before I knew it. I walk away with from this feeling like so much has happened, so much was achieved and there are so many stories to tell and a lot of great experiences to share. Below a summary:

  • Experiencing Peruvian culture in a work environment and learning from it;
  • Attending surf classe s and teaching kids how to surf;
  • Moving the Centro de Surf and creating a room full of surf shop atmosphere;
  • Being able to utilize and share my business knowledge when it comes to accounting, marketing and new business models;
  • Eating with local families and eating Peruvian food (my favorite is Ceviche!);
  • Strolling over the markets in Talara to buy food;
  • Making friends with locals and the WAVES staff; and,
  • Of course surfing one of Peru´s best waves!

  With the knowledge accumulated during my internship, WAVES now has the opportunity to become more sustainable and focused in their search for qualified long-term interns for specific tasks (i.e. further improving the Centro de Surf business model). This is not just beneficial for the community in the long run but also for WAVES, the staff and the future interns. Lobitos is a lovely, growing desert village with an interesting historical background,  friendly people and lots to offer. And even if one of my personal conclusions is that I never could live here for a long long time I wouldn´t have minded to stay longer because it feels like home... Raffael Schmidt WAVES Intern     Ps: Dear Raffael Schmidt Deutsch or was it Deutsch Schmidt. Your presence, work, ideas, energy and friendship are much appreciated! Myself and with me many people here in Lobitos will miss having you around! Looking forward catching up in a couple of weeks... Safe travels and see you when I see you... A big bear hug Pim - Raffael Schmidt

• Vai Brasil!

  Hi everyone! My name is Caio Antunes and I'm here to write about my two weeks in Lobitos with the WAVES for Development crew. First of all, let me explain the title of this post, I'm from Brasil and I have the honor to be the first brazilian volunteer here. I hope that several others will come to Lobitos working in the WAVES for Dev. after me. I arrived in Lobitos on April 1st, after a short walk to see the beach, I went back to the WAVES house and met Javier, a volunteer from Switzerland, working with a lot of wood. He said to me: I'm gonna built a mini-ramp for the kids! At that time, I knew it that I was in the right place. The next days were pure fun, a good swell hit Lobitos and we surfed fun waves everyday. Besides that, I helped Javier with the Mini ramp and went to some surf and english classes to help the teachers and get in touch with the kids and the community. Every Night Sam or Tali prepared delicious meals and we all ate the whole thing and went to bed with a smile on the face. In the end of the first week I decided what to do as my personal project, and spoke to Sam and Daniela about the idea. The brazilians are the biggest visitors of Lobitos. Every week there's at least one group of surfers from my "beaultiful home" ehehe... and most of the guys doesn't know that the WAVES for Dev exists and what they do over here. So I decided to write some articles about Lobitos and the WAVES work to share in the Brazilian surf media and besides that I'm gonna translate all the website content to create a Portuguese version. Uhaa!! But I wasn't able to do all of that in my last week in Lobitos, so I create others forms to help the community as well. I helped Henry a local kid who surfs very well and is starting to do some works as photographer. I taught him how to use the photoshop to treate his photos and also create a flickr page. If you want to check it out go to (www.flickr.com/henrylobitos). And I use a video camera that I brought with me to film the work in the mini ramp. I will make a short video with all the images and uses that to get some donations of skateboards for the local kids. To finish, I just want to thanks all the WAVES staff for the 2 weeks that I spent in this very special place that I will visit again and again, for sure. Ow, one last thing we finish the ramp and it's f**king awesome! But this is a story that Javier will tell you guys in a future post. Chevere! Ps: If someone wants to contact me, to ask something about Lobitos or even Brazil just send an email to caio@oserdosurf.com.br or visit my website: www.oserdosurf.com.br Aloha! - Caio

• A breath of fresh air

  This is a great stop-off for people spending an extended time in South America. I only attended for 10 days and was devastated to leave so quickly - it was not enough time to get the full experience. The guys I met while there were embarking on a six month tour so they had the luxury of spending almost a month at camp. I think this is the better way to do it. However, I would not trade my experience for the world. - Marieke

• Encouraging (and fun) opportunity for improvement

  Expect an encouraging experience with dedicated community leaders, working hard to improve education, increase awareness, and make a difference in the local community. It's a great atmosphere for teamwork and cooperation. There will be plenty of fun and laughter too. You'll also be able to surf, a lot. - Jeremy Koons

• Guitar teacher and longboarder

  This is a fantastic way not only to get surf on a fantastic secluded coast, but also to get to really understand the culture and people of a poor fishing town. You get to interact every day with the townspeople and learn about a way of life that is probably foreign to most. - Will Moritz

• Surf volunteerism

  A great alternative to the Me, Me, Me surf trip. Connecting with locals and teaching/ learning. Surfing perfect waves in a remote location but having the company and camaraderie of being part of a team with a goal. The whole aim of Waves is to create social an environmental sustainability whilst using surfing as a tool for development. It seemed to be working! Well done to WAVES for Development. - Coll Faragher

• WAVES

  Brilliant experience! I have never been to South America and wow! I did not expect anything that I experienced. I think those are the best types of experiences and you must have an open mind and if you are reading this chances are pretty solid that you do. I loved that his volunteer experience offered two weeks and was affordable as most volunteer experiences are expensive or you don't have enough time off to fulfil them. This was great and if I could've stayed I would've, but had to get home for a prior engagement. To have the option to extend your stay is a great idea and is a big plus! The accommodation was really good and def added to my experience. The food was delicious and def. gave me a "real" experience of living in Peru. This was a sad part. Lobitos is extremely poor and I didn't realize how all of Peru is pretty poor. There was so much garbage all over the place and I really feel that this can be a starting point to make some necessary changes. I think education and environment awareness go hand-in-hand and the people of Peru could def use a lesson in environment awareness. It could be they don't have the proper places for access waste, but recycling education is definitely needed. I saw a women open up the window in a taxi van and throw her styrofoam chinese dish & fork right out the window without a care in the world. No one blinked an eye and again I think its just terrible that this lack of awareness is very high amongst the Peruvian people. I think beach, community clean-ups can be organized to spread the awareness of recycling. I also feel that if there is no government involvement and awareness then nothing will change throughout the country. - Brian Loesch

• What an AMAZING experience

  WAVES is a once in a lifetime experience! This is a small place, off the beaten path. A place where you can learn about others and about yourself. You have the opportunity to experience the local culture of a small town by actually becoming part of the community. You are steps from the beach, with surf boards and surf lessons at your disposal. You share your time with a community of people who are giving rather than taking, and you walk away feeling like you have really experienced something special. - Jillian

• Fun doesnt have to be fickle

  The WAVES staff really did everything to make me feel welcome and comfortable. I arrived sick with foodpoisoning, but I was quickly installed in my room, with private bathroom, which had just been fininshed building. (the single occupancy of the room turned out to be lucky, as there was only one other volunteer during the first part of my stay, later sharing however was fun too). Very fast I got to know some local adults and kids. When I left after 6 weeks it really felt they cared for me as I did for them, even though they must have seen many volunteers come and go. (it sounds like a cliche but hey thats what they are there for:) Definitely a very recommendable experience. - La Wera

The WAVES staff really did everything to make me feel welcome and comfortable. I arrived sick with foodpoisoning, but I was quickly installed in my room, with private bathroom, which had just been fininshed building. (the single occupancy of the room turned out to be lucky, as there was only one other volunteer during the first part of my stay, later sharing however was fun too).

Very fast I got to know some local adults and kids. When I left after 6 weeks it really felt they cared for me as I did for them, even though they must have seen many volunteers come and go. (it sounds like a cliche but hey thats what they are there for:) Definitely a very recommendable experience.