The Perupedia Project

Today I want to explain one of our most ambitious projects, Perupedia. My goal for this project, for which I will be looking for volunteers, is to gather as much information as we can about Peru and its culture. The layout of this project will use the powerful open source Twiki program to collect data not just from me and my volunteers but from anyone willing to contribute to the project. You may ask “Why not just go to wikipedia for the information?”, the answer is that although Wikipedia is great for general reference, it is not as in depth as it should be about certain topics. This project will gather information regarding current news, articles, blogs, video and music media, travel and general information about Peru. It will include sections that go far beyond Peru @ Wikipedia.

Our new volunteer program which I will go over in more detail tomorrow will be vitally helpful in building the Perupedia site. I encourage all of you to visit www.karikuy.org/perupedia to visit the landing page and read more about the project. The new landing page includes a volunteer application form for those interested in coming to Peru and helping out. A reason I will keep this post short is because you can find a lot of useful information on that page regarding the project.

So when can you expect to see Perupedia begin to add content? I would say as early as the first week in February. Right now I’m in charge of the huge task of not just installing a massive database addition to the web site but also to begin going over volunteer application forms which I have already received many inquiries about. I guess the free room and board, as well as the cheap meal plan has been very well received and that’s a great thing for the project! Although I must stress that I can only have a maximum of 2 volunteers at a time helping me on the project for now. So If you are interested please fill out the application form, if you are interested in working on the project at home you can email me at jctello@karikuy.org.