As a teenager and young adult, Castillo traveled throughout Peru to earn funds for his studies.[1][16][15] Beginning at the age of twelve, he and his father would walk 140 kilometres (87 mi) for two to three days to work for a few months in the coffee plantations of the Amazon region of Peru.[4][14] With his sister, Castillo traveled through the Amazon to work with rice crops and sell ice cream in order to pay for studies.[12][16][15] In Lima, he sold newspapers and cleaned hotel rooms.[15] He studied Primary Education in the Octavio Carrera Education Insitute of Superior Studies and a master's degree in Educational Psychology from the César Vallejo University.[13]