Manari & Belén

Sapara

Immersion

8 Days

7 Nights

Program

LEADERS

Manari Ushigua

Belén Páez

2023 DEPARTURE DATES

May 14 to 21

August 20 to 27

Heal and change your vision of life while learning about:

  • Shimaka

    Living wisdom of the forest.

  • Makihauno

    Dream world teachings and interpretations.

  • Nakunajinia

    The art of healing through plants and other medicines.

  • Ceremonies

    Traditional indigenous ceremonies with local community members.

  • The Amazon We Want

    Teachings from the forest and the importance of the Amazon for climate stability.

  • Energy Cleansing Rituals

    Rituals to reboot and detox your soul.

  • Attuning

    Listening to how the forest thinks.

  • Yanukua Kariaka

    The art of listening, perceiving and speaking through moving practices.

ITINERARY

DAY 1

  • Arrival to Quito, hotel accommodation and welcome dinner for group introduction.

DAY 2

  • Early departure from Quito by bus for approximately a 4 hour drive to Shell Airport, from where you will take a 30 minute flight in a small aircraft to Llanchamacocha as a final destination.

  • Arrival to Llanchamacocha where Sapara members will receive us in their community with a welcoming cleanse. They will use plants, paint our faces, give us our local name and will share some tobacco with us before we float (swim) down the Conambo river to our camp.

    In the afternoon, we will have a group gathering to talk about the next few days inside the jungle and also we will have a Dream World introduction.

DAY 3

  • We will wake up early and receive our morning cleanse, this will allow us to continue connecting with the energy of the forest.

    We will have a dream circle and interpretation with Manari and community members.

    Later have a walk into the forest to learn more of biodiversity and all that surrounds us, have some time for journaling, and movement practice.

DAY 4

  • After breakfast, we will walk to the sacred waterfall. We will have the chance to spend some time in the forest and learn about medicinal plants as we hike along. We will learn about the importance of the conservation of the amazon rainforest and the indigenous people who live inside it. We will also learn how all living beings are interconnected to this place. We will recharge with the energy of the spirit of the water as we connect with Jauneka (tabacco plant) and have a short meditation inside the forest before we head back to the camp. All this in preparation for our ceremony that night.

DAY 5

  • We will gather in a circle to meditate and connect with our vision and purpose.

    Short walk in the forest and some time for journaling and rest.

DAY 6

  • Visit the community members. Get a glimpse of how they live, their homes, their traditions and have and afternoon of intercultural exchange. Here we will have a chance to support the community members by purchasing some souvenirs to bring back home.

DAY 7

  • Take your flight back to Shell and drive by bus to the Andes. Arrive to Termas de Papallacta, a nice place to stay and enjoy hot springs.

    We will have a farewell dinner and the opportunity to thank our journey leaders.

DAY 8

  • Enjoy an early breakfast at the hotel and prepare your belongings for our return transfer to Quito. The bus will have a stop at the airport for your flight back home.

Meet your Journey leaders!

  • Spiritual Sapara Leader

    Manari Ushigua is a traditional healer and leader of the Sapara Nation in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Sapara Nation is recognized by UNESCO as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. Manari has participated in international events such as climate and biodiversity conventions and the UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights, raising awareness about the threat to his homeland. Manari is the co-founder of the Naku Center, creating a new economic model in the Amazon that is based around cultural and forest preservation.

  • Connector of indigenous peoples and organizations to their purpose and power.

    Belén Páez is President of Fundación Pachamama and currently coordinates the Climate Finance program.

    She has led the implementation of programs based on forest economies, ecotourism, renewable energies, the protection and conservation of fragile ecosystems, legal actions in defense of collective rights and the rights of nature, climate justice and programs dedicated to improving maternal and child health.

    She also serves as general secretary of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative, which aims to protect 35 million hectares on the border between Ecuador and Peru in collaboration with Amazonian indigenous federations.

    Belén is currently a board member of Protection International PI based in Brussels, member of the board of the National Environmental Fund of Ecuador FIAS, and active member of the Science Panel for the Amazon SPA.

    She was awarded in 2021 within the list of The 100 Latinos Most Committed to Climate Action, communication, science and sustainable policies.