Hometown Through the Eyes of Its Children · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Image on Flickr by user iñaki de luis (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Chapacoco, a Peruvian village located at an altitude of 3,000 meters, part of the district of Chilcaymarca in the Arequipean province of Castilla, has been in the news thanks to its children.
On October 10, 2014, the book “Chapacoco as seen from the children” was launched. The book has been written by fifth and sixth graders from the Elementary School 40351. Under the guide of their teacher Ronny Durand, in charge of the project “Making science as a game”, the students investigated for over a year about customs and riches of the area:
El libro resulta de Proyecto de Innovación Pedagógica “Haciendo Ciencia Como Jugando”, que tiene como objetivo que los niños desarrollen competencias y capacidades utilizando el conocimiento de la realidad, promoviendo la identidad cultural, la conciencia ambiental y la participación comunitaria. Resultado de esta es que la obra contiene: los datos generales (ubicación, población, servicios y geografía); costumbres y tradiciones, como mitos, cuentos y leyendas; la gastronomía, artesanía, paisajes turísticos y restos arqueológicos del lugar; y la riqueza natural de la flora y fauna.
The book results from the Educational Innovation Project “Making science as a game”, that has as an objective that children develop competences and abilities using knowledge from reality, promoting cultural identity, environmental awareness and community participation. As a result, the book has general information (location, population, services and geography); customs and traditions, such as myths, tales and legends; gastronomy, craftwork, tourist landscapes and archeological remains; and the natural riches of flora and fauna.