The walk begins: Pounding hail implodes the ground and thunders like gunfire upon the soft, cool earth. Our walk is halted beneath the cradle of an outcropped stone. Seeking shelter from the region's never-ending mood swings. The river begins to bleed mud as the current picks up, and we sit in shivering anticipation of the end.

Slowly, the pounding becomes tapping. The tapping becomes mist and the sun sparkles though the squinting leaves of trees. With a sign of relief we begin our walk along the mud splashed path.

Yesterday, another volunteer and I surveyed a path along the community of Chocco, near the city of Cusco in Peru. Chocco is located in one of the poorest districts of Cusco: Santiago. Trash pick-up and clean water are dimly lit aspirations of the future. In an effort to stimulate its local economy, Chocco wants to invite tourists for day-trip walks along their surrounding village path. Our mission was to photograph the scenery along this path for an informational tourist brochure. Later, a couple of the kids helped us assemble the tag line of "Carve Your Own Path" from cut-out paper letters and eucalyptus tree branches. This image will be used for the brochure's cover.

Hampy is the name of the organization that I am volunteering with here in Cusco. We work with young people in this community in an effort to better the overall social conditions. Volunteers with Hampy Peru focus on everything from nutrition and water to education and small business development. The brilliance of Hampy's organization lies in it's simplicity. Each volunteer develops their own program, based on their personal vision and strengths. As a Designer, I have tag-teamed with another volunteer, whose expertise is in Marketing. Our goal is to promote this village's small business development.

To learn more volunteering with Hampy in Cusco, please visit hampy.org. To learn more about hiking through Chocco, please contact Choccohikes[at]hotmail[dot]com. See more pictures of the hike through Chocco, please visit flickr.

Other side projects include the development of marketing material for the products that Chocco produces. Their goal is to sell their artisan crafts, leather goods and honey to the tourists that come for the walks.