WAKAYA ECOLODGE, Pucallpa, Peru
Up to 15 in group
Open Dates
About this Retreat
My name means Sweet Swallow in my native Shipibo. I was born in the native community of Vista Alegre in the district of Masisea. For twenty years, I have been a traditional healer. I first studied teaching in the Instituto Superior Pedagógico Publico Bilingüe of Yarinacocha and worked for five years in bilingual schools in the native communities. Since 1992, I have been living Santa Clara where I began working with Donaldo Antonio Roque Cumapa in authentic healing tradition of my ancestors. My practice has been reviewed and accredited by the Association of Ancestral Medicine of the Shipibo-Conibo Onayabos.
Marcos Urquía
Marcos is the director of
Alianza Arkana, an important indigenous-led grassroots organization dedicated to advocacy and social and cultural revitalization of Shipibo-Conibo communities in the Ucayali region of Peru. He is also the long experienced director of permaculture at the Santa Clara Shipibo-Conibo community and has a deep understanding of the technical challenges of permaculture in the Amazon as well as the social and environmental issues afflicting the region. To find more about Marcos and Santa Clara, please follow this link:
http://www.enchantearth.com/santa-clara-shipibo-conibo-tours/
Presently Marcos is involved in launching of two very important projects with
Alianza Arkana. The first is the
RAO BANOBO , an educational initiative to
teach urban and community cultivation of backyard medicinals for families without access to modern medicine.You can learn more and experience this project for yourself in our inaugural
Amazon Medicine Field School to be launched this spring 2022.
The second innovation is the
KENÉ book
, a "colouring book" of Kené designs, the mysterious psychometry of the Shipibo-Conibo visionary artesans . The Kené project has gathered the contributions and profiles of the most locally respected artesans, their history and traditions, into one unique book. It can be purchased today as an E-book.
Learn more about the fundraiser and how to buy your copy!
Patrick Quio Valdivia
Assistant director and tour coordinator
An environmental engineer by profession, I am an enthusiast of clean technologies and have worked with many organizations and international NGOs on cultural and eco-tourism projects, environmental conservation, and sustainable development in Perú. In 2014, I was part of the Swiss cooperation team at
COP 20 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC) and supported the delegation of
Rio+20 (United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012. I am also a photographer with a love for nature photography and am an active supporter of regional arts and culture, including the new
Amazon Film School.
Details of this retreat
Ucayali Eco-tour and Visit to Shipibo Villages
Embark to the Ucayali for this exciting one day river tour and visit to the Shipibo Village of Santa Clara, a unique community that has revitalized its ancestral traditions.
Arrive at the local market of Yarinacocha
Guests meet with their guide at Wakaya Ecolodge in Pucallpa at 9:00 am before heading to the port-town of Yarinacocha, on the beautiful Yarinacocha lagoon. There they will visit the local market before boarding a "peke-peke" (local motorized boat) and heading off on a river tour of the largest tributary of the Amazon river.
Ucayali River Wildlife and Communities
Experience the rich diversity of wildlife in one of the most bio-diverse regions of the planet. If you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the famous pink Amazon river dolphin. Visit river communities along the way.
Santa Clara
When you arrive in Santa Clara, enjoy a lunch of "patarasca:" delicious river fish cooked in banana leaves. After lunch, attend a Shipibo cultural presentation and visit the community permaculture gardens to learn about Amazon medicinal plants and how they were used during the pandemic.
Irake Non Nibo
Following, participate in a sacred "Irake non nibo" ceremony to honour Mother Earth with Shipibo Onaya (healer), Chonon Benxo.
Shamanic ceremony
Guests have the option of staying for an shamanic ceremony in the Shipibo tradition for an additional charge of 100 USD (includes a floral bath and a night's stay with a Shipibo family and breakfast).
[caption id="attachment_3564" align="alignnone" width="920"] Shipibo Onaya, Chonon Benxo.[/caption]
San Francisco
Before heading back to Pucallpa, visit the adjacent Shipibo village of San Francisco, the largest Shipibo town in the Ucayali. Stop by the ceramic studios of Gloria Amusifuen. There you will witness the ancient art of Shipibo slip-fired pottery and the meaning of the mysterious Kené designs.
[caption id="attachment_1791" align="alignnone" width="920"] Gloria Amusifuen in her workshop in San Francisco[/caption]