AMAZONIAN
PLANT MEDICINE

The Amazon rainforest is home to an astonishing amount of medicinal plants. It is a veritable living, breathing medicine cabinet that is responsible for something like 25% of all modern pharmaceutical medicines…

Consider this: less than 1% of Amazonian plants have been studied! The Amazon Jungle remains a largely-unknown, unexplored ecosystem from which ayahuasca and other plant medicine practices have arisen. Yet the real magic of this remarkable place lies with the people and how they have come to master the knowledge of plants and plant medicines in such holistic, effective, and mysterious ways.

Amazon River near Casa del Maestro ayahuasa center Peru

Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

The depth of knowledge Amazonian peoples have of their resident plant allies is just as astonishing as the forest. In addition to vast medicinal uses, plants are also fundamental to virtually every aspect of life: home building, hunting, nutrition, culture, myth & cosmology.

Living Traditions

Plant medicine practices are as old as Amazonian cultures. They have been kept alive via oral traditions and evolving bodies of knowledge that continue to thrive and adapt today. Ayahuasca is perhaps the most well-known of an entire system of medicinal plants.

PLANTS WE WORK WITH

We follow the lineage Maestro Alberto Torres Davila. He specializes in four complementary groupings of plant medicines, all of which work together to create a transformative, holistic healing experience.

  • Maestro Alberto Ayahuasca Peru

    AYAHUASCA

    Ayahuasca is made from two base plants: ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and the leaf from the chacruna tree (Psychotria viridis). Both plants are harvested, cleaned, prepared and ultimately cooked with intentionality for up to 8 hours. Ayahuasca is used medicinally for holistic cleansing that addresses the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual realms.

  • Plant medicine dietas Maestro Alberto Peru

    TREE MEDICINE

    Tree medicines, known as palos, include a variety of hardwood trees. Their barks are harvested from the surrounding forest and utilized as part of the ayahuasca brew and in dietas. Each tree has wide-ranging medicinal applications. The trees as a whole represent an entire discipline and Maestro Alberto is a rare master palero who carries this tradition.

  • SANANGO

    The Sanango family of plants includes both Uchu and Chiric Sanango varieties. They are both incredibly powerful plant doctors and teachers. Sanango is cooked into the ayahuasca along with the other medicines, adding a rootedness and healing strength to the experience. Diets with Sanango require great discipline and commitment—with tremendous results.

  • MAPACHO

    A tobacco variant known locally as mapacho (Nicotiana rustica) is utilized in a variety of ways throughout the rainforest. It is a powerful purgative with the ability to remove blockages and cleanse the physical and spiritual bodies. We offer dietas with mapacho, and it is also utilized in ceremony to help set space, cleanse energies, and as an energetic support.

Ayahuasca: The Vine of Spirit

Ayahuasca has a long and rich history of traditional use throughout Amazonia. It is known locally as a Doctor and Teacher Plant, and its primary purposes are for healing and learning. Ayahuasca is a holistic medicine, addressing all aspects of one’s being simultaneously: spiritual, psychological, emotional and physical.

Tree Medicine

 Palero shamanism is a plant medicine specialty that utilizes a variety of hardwood trees for healing and learning from the plants. The plant doctors of the trees, like with ayahuasca, offer both physical and spiritual healing, and they are known to teach the wisdom of the forest primarily through plant dietas.

Sanango root bunch at Casa del Maestro plant medicine center in Peru

Sanango Medicine

 We work with two types of Sanango: Uchu (Tabernaemontana sananho) and Chiric (Brunfelsia grandiflora). Both are potent plant medicines with long histories of medicinal use, and they form a bedrock of our tradition. Diets with Sanango are significantly transformative, and are held exclusively a few times per year.

Mapacho tobacco at Casa del Maestro

Mapacho: Jungle Tobacco

Jungle tobacco (Nicotiana rustica) known as mapacho is prevalent throughout the upper Amazon basin. It is widely utilized as a medicine and forms an integral part of virtually every ayahuasca tradition. Historical use of mapacho extends deep into history, and many Amazonian peoples consider it among the original medicines.

OUR PROCESS

HANDS-ON

The medicine plants we work with are grown by Maestro’s family or harvested from the local region. Guests are involved in making the ayahuasca brew as well as preparing the plant medicine dietas. Our brew is always cooked onsite and we educate participants on the importance of knowing how the medicines work, from raw plants to final preparations.

LINEAGE-BASED

Maestro Don Alberto’s lineage focuses on four groups of plants that work together in a complete system of holistic spirit medicine. Our process is rooted in the traditional philosophy that has been part of his family lineage for many generations. Each of the medicine plants offers energetic support, healing, and wisdom that enhances the overall experience.

EDUCATION

We highlight how the plant medicines work together in ceremonies as well as after the journey. This system goes beyond just drinking ayahuasca. We help guests develop personal relationships with the process by sharing about the culture and history, and by demonstrating how this practice translates into a meaningful, relatable and transformational experience.

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