Shout-out to Erin!
A complete oversight all this time: I have neglected to mention Erin O’Rourke, an expat American living and teaching English in Urubamba....
What's My Bag
MicroAid in the Macro World Here at MicroAid we are committed to being as environmentally conscious as possible; even on a personal level...
Peru House Project Update
The Ormachea-Hermoza home construction is going great. The foundation is finished and we are preparing to pour the columns. It was an...
Eating for Two
Just rid myself of some kind of intestinal parasite after three weeks trying to use a local homeopathic remedy: eat a big handful of mint...
Rebar Madness
Bending, cutting, setting… rebar—this foundation could support the Freedom Tower. There is so much reinforced concrete in the beams this...
Pisac Poseurs
The crew works six days a week, so on Sunday, Melissa, Erin, and I went to Pisac, the other quaint tourist town, after Ollantaytambo, in...
Making it Happen in Urubamba
On Monday, May 27th, we broke ground on the Ormachea-Hermoza house in Urubamaba. The first MicroAid project in Peru is going smoothly,...
Sad Turn of Events in Peru
Here in Peru things are moving forward. We will be breaking ground on the project in Urubamba on Monday, but we hit a snag with our...
Inflation at our Worksite in Urubamba Peru
It’s a good thing the first week was so pleasant in Cusco, because I forgot how hard it is to build houses in foreign countries. Here at...
The Most Amazing Street Festival in Urubamba, Peru
I got to see the Torrechayoq festival in Urubamba on Sunday. A day-long parade of dancers and musicians—dozens of crews in different...
Mysterious Ancient Ruins Near Our Project in Peru
Things are good here. Projects are moving forward—slowly, but surely. our site in urubamba backs up against another structure While...
Cusco Calling
Cusco Calling . I am here in the Sacred Valley of Peru starting the MicroAid projects to build houses for survivor-families of the 2010...
Finding Ways to Help in Peru
I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving. Here in the Sacred Valley of Peru, I was treated to a wonderful feast with many expats and...
Jon Ross in Columbia Alumni Magazine
A quick post to say that our good work has been recognized by my alma mater, Columbia University. They did a nice profile of me in the...
Destruction, Death, and Exile in the Village
Coming over the mountains to the south side of the island is like entering a different world. Whereas the rest of Samoa is waterlogged...
Samoa Gets Hit Again
With so much tragedy in the news last week, you may not have seen that a category 3 cyclone (“sustained hurricane winds of 120 mph and...