Medicine Maker Ayahuasca Retreat | Putumayo​,​ Colombia

Make the medicine. Then drink it. On select dates at MahaDevi, you can join Taita Miguel in preparing the Crudo Ayahuasca (Yagé) that will be served in your ceremonies. Over two mornings, you work entirely by hand, following the same Camsá process his lineage has followed for twelve unbroken generations. The medicine you help prepare is the medicine you receive. That continuity is the whole point. This is not an apprenticeship or healer training. It is something simpler and, for many, more profound: a chance to sit with the plants before they sit with you, and to understand where your medicine truly comes from. Day one is the heart of the work. It opens with a purification and protection ritual, then Taita introduces the tradition before the hands-on preparation begins: cleaning and cutting the Chagra leaves, smashing them and the ayahuasca vine with a wooden mallet, mixing the plants, and setting them to rest. Four to five hours of real physical effort, shared in a small group. Day two is shorter and focused: drawing the medicine out, the final preparation of the Crudo, and a closing of the space with Taita Miguel. No machine touches this process at any stage. Taita Miguel Mavisoy of the Camsá tribe carries twelve generations of ayahuasca lineage. He received the medicine at six months old and became a Taita by fourteen. He grows the plants on his own land, prepares each batch fresh, and personally leads every ceremony. His brew is known across Colombia for its notably sweet taste and the warmth of his presence. The Medicine Maker experience is an optional add-on to the full seven-night MahaDevi retreat in Putumayo, near Mocoa, a cooler, low-mosquito highland setting, not a remote jungle camp. Every guest, whether they join the preparation or not, receives the complete retreat: three ayahuasca ceremonies with Taita Miguel, both Crudo and traditionally cooked Yagé, all meals and accommodation, two-way airport transport, a hike to the Fin del Mundo waterfall, Rapeh, Sananga, sound healing, breathwork, and cacao circles. Care extends well beyond the week itself, with structured preparation before arrival and ninety days of integration support afterward. Full medical and psychiatric screening is required of every participant, with no exceptions, and a 1:2 facilitator-to-guest ratio in ceremony. This is for you if you want to deepen your relationship with plant medicine beyond ceremony, feel drawn to indigenous knowledge, and are open to hands-on work.

Screening is required of everyone. No exceptions. Before you are accepted, you complete a full medical and psychiatric screening. This is not a formality. Ayahuasca interacts with certain medications and conditions, and some people are not a good fit for this work. We would rather turn you away than put you at risk. If we decline your application, it is for your safety. Tell us the truth on your intake. Certain antidepressants (especially SSRIs and MAOIs), some heart conditions, and a personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder can make ayahuasca dangerous. Recreational drugs and some prescriptions need to be cleared from your system well before ceremony. We will walk you through the specifics during preparation, but honesty at screening is what keeps you safe. Preparation starts before you arrive. There is a dietary and lifestyle protocol in the weeks leading up to the retreat. The more seriously you take it, the better your experience. This is part of the work, not a hurdle before it. Physical considerations. The retreat itself does not require high fitness. The Fin del Mundo waterfall hike is moderate and optional. If you join the Medicine Maker preparation, expect four to five hours of real physical effort on day one, smashing plants by hand. Let us know in advance about any mobility limitations. The setting. We are in the Putumayo highlands near Mocoa, a cooler, low-mosquito zone, not a remote jungle camp. Cabins have hot showers, electricity, and wifi. Hospital José María Hernández is about 30 minutes away. Bring layers, a refillable water bottle, comfortable clothes you do not mind getting dirty, and any documentation of your health history we ask for. Care does not end when the week does. You have structured preparation before arrival and ninety days of integration support afterward. Plan for the integration period. The week is only part of it.