I am thankful to Centennial college for organizing the Faculty-Led International Program. It was an honour to be a part of the FLIP -Peru program. Along with my ten other classmates and two faculty members (Prof. Xavier Aguirre and Prof. Marco). Our journey began on Feb 22, 2020. We had a daily visit to IESTP – Illimo to work on the pilot plant. Along with IESTP, we visited few other places such as Guinea pig farm, apiary, National Institute of Agricultural Research and Gandules internationals.
On day one we visited Guinea pig farm where we learned about the rearing of the pigs. Later we headed to see the IESTP pilot plant. On day two, we visited the apiary where we saw honey bees, artificial honeycombs and equipment to obtain honey. Day three, we visited the international institute of agricultural research where we learned about the natural media of pest control (Using insects and larva). Day four we visited one of the biggest facilities in Peru “Gandules Internationals”. Day five was scheduled to visit farms and fields of Gandules Internationals. Day six, we utilized for cultural activities where we visited three amazing museums.
The IESTP pilot plant is designed for the production of jam, yogurt, pickles, cheese and honey. They have a few modern types of equipment which is enough to start production for small scale businesses. The professors and employees of the institute are very hardworking and trying their best to start the plant as soon as possible. I am very glad that I also contributed something to help them. The task was given to us was to develop a process flow chart and diagram for jam, pickles and yogurt production. We all tried our best to develop those. For their better understanding, we translated those charts in Spanish. We also got a chance to do premises inspection which was a great learning experience. The visit to Gandules International was amazing. I learned a lot about pickle facility and GMPs. I saw practically what I learned so far during the course of three semesters. We also visited their farms and fields to see how and what technology they use to grow their vegetables especially bell peppers and jalapeno.
The Peruvian people are very humble, kind and warm. They respect their visitors and try to provide the best hospitality. Our cultural activities began with a dinner party at the guinea pig farm owner’s house. The next day we visited three museums where we learned about the Peruvian ancestors and their culture. We returned home safely on March 2, 2020.
Overall the experience of the FLIP Peru program was amazing and memorable. I would like to thank #SaGE for organizing such a wonderful study trip. Our instructors, prof. Xavier and Prof. Marco took care of all of us and made sure of our safety. It was a safe and pleasant journey. I will never forget the FLIP Peru trip.
Thank you.
Amanjyotkaur Banwayat
#FLIP-Peru (Food Science Technology)
THE GLOBAL EXPERIENCE BLOG 