Join us in a journey to reconnect to your humanity and heal from the wounds of colonization. The Yawanawá of Aldeia Sete Estrelas will show you what it is like to truly live collectively, in good relation with the natural world. Their plants medicines heal and connect, and they are very happy to share them with us. This trip is being organized at the community’s request, in close collaboration with them.

Yawa Vake Shukuni: 7-day immersive experience with the Yawanawá People along the Gregorio River in the Living Pharmacy

In May 2027, Dr. Hilary Agro, Maria Cheung, and Clara Almeida, led by Yawanawá healer and pajé Xinú Yawanawá, will be bringing a group of people to visit the Yawanawá village of Sete Estrelas for medicine healing in the Brazilian Amazon.

If you’ve ever wanted to do psychedelic plant medicine work with Indigenous people, but don’t want to be a colonizer about it—this is the trip. Our last visit, in May 2026, was truly life-changing. The Yawanawá of Aldeia Sete Estrelas have been working hard to make this cross-cultural collaboration happen, as they have decided in consultation with the plant spirits that it is time to open their village to cultural exchange. Us Canadian and Brazilian co-organizers are working closely with the community to facilitate this trip, aligned in our values of protecting the rainforest, their territory, and their way of life while offering healing to visitors from outside. The Yawanawá of Aldeia Sete Estrelas are very excited about welcoming people in to receive deep healing and share in their rich heritage and culture. All of us are over-the-moon happy that we’re going to make this happen, and open the trip to a bigger group this time!

Medicinal plants • Sacred rituals • Community life

Details:

Time: Early May 2027 (exact dates will be selected by September 2026, to allow participants plenty of time to book flights and time off)

Duration: 7-9 days in the village, with 2-3 days of travel on either end to get to the village (total trip duration 12-14 days)

Location: Aldeia Sete Estrelas in the Amazon rainforest, Acre, Brazil

Activities:

• Uni ceremonies
• Kambo
• Sananga
• Traditional games (see this video)
• Song sharing
• Hiking/foraging walks in the Amazon rainforest
• Visit to the sacred Samahuma tree
• Communal meals
• Traditional storytelling
• Healing herbal sweat ceremony/baths

(All activities are optional, no aspect of the trip is mandatory; all participants can choose which parts they’d like to participate in, and can change their minds at any time. The programming is subject to slight changes depending on the flow of the trip, but the Uni ceremonies are the focal point.)

Cost: $3000-$3500 (sliding scale), plus airfare. $500 deposit to secure your spot, refundable before November 1, 2026. The deposit goes towards the full cost.

Includes: All accommodation, food and transportation from Cruzeiro do Sul (the nearest city with an airport) to the village and back to Cruzeiro do Sul. All medicine ceremonies and activities included. Flights are the responsibility of participants, though we can help with the logistics of booking domestic flights within Brazil to arrive in Cruzeiro do Sul from Brasilia. (See below for more info.)

If you’re interested in joining the trip, fill out this application form. If you have questions first, please reach out!

Healing in the rainforest

This is not a luxury vacation. The accommodations are simple and the conditions are rugged. But this is not a downside of the trip – it is part of the experience. We will be living as the Yawanawá do, experiencing their traditional way of life. Confronting ourselves with the levels of comfort we have been trained to surround ourselves with at all times, at the expense of the environment and exploited workers, is essential for decolonization. This is why we are not ‘advertising’ this trip, or making grand claims about luxury accommodations, guest service, and transformation handed to you on a silver platter. We know that the right people will find this trip, and resonate with the deeper connection, learning and healing that’s being offered.

Coming on this trip reflects a deep commitment to your personal healing, and to decolonial values. It is a profoundly impactful experience to live for a week among people who have been rooted in community and relationship to the Earth for thousands of years, and receive the open-hearted healing they have to offer. The Yawanawá people have a vast wealth of knowledge of plant medicines, sustainability, spirituality and healing. They are also threatened by floods exacerbated by the climate crisis, and pressure from agriculture and mining companies. They are still standing strong in their territory, but this type of cultural exchange will help them to build much-needed infrastructure to weather climate change and allow them to stay on their land (such as a fish pond for food resilience), continue to serve Mother Earth, and help out their values-aligned kin in the West (that’s us!) with their powerful healing medicines.

Here is the application for those interested in joining. Hilary, Maria and Clara are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all those who come on this trip are aligned in values of respect and non-extractive participation. All participants will be vetted via video call ahead of time to ensure the safety of the Yawanawá people.

Thank you, obrigada! Apply here if you’d like to join the trip, and reach out if you have any questions 😊

MORE FLIGHT/TRAVEL INFO:

Note that the trip requires 2-3 days of travel on either end because of how remote the village is. (That’s why it’s such an amazingly authentic experience—they are deep in the rainforest.)

Participants will book their own flights to arrive from their home to the city of Brasilia. From Brasilia to Cruzeiro do Sul (the closest city with an airport), participants will pay for their own flights but these can be booked by our Brazilian translator Clara for ease of booking. From Cruzeiro do Sul to the village and back, the hotel, bus, boat and meals are all included in the trip fee.

Meet the organizers

Dr. Hilary Agro, PhD

Dr. Agro is an anthropologist, community organizer, writer and public speaker. Her honest and compassionate writing and videos about decolonization and plant medicines have drawn in a large audience on various platforms, where she speaks directly to and with the people. Dr. Agro has given talks and facilitated workshops on liberationist organizing, harm reduction, decolonizing psychedelics, and collective healing, focusing on encouraging people to see the connections between all our struggles, and helping people feel empowered to join the movement for a more just and caring world.

Maria Cheung

Maria is a clinical sexologist and somatic practitioner who works within the Tibetan tantra lineage.

Clara Almeida

Clara is our Brazilian translator and organizer.

FAQ:

What is the accommodation like?

Conditions are rustic. This is not a fancy, all-inclusive retreat experience–that is what makes it so authentic. Specific accommodations will depend on the size of the group, and are first come first served in order of when deposits for the trip are made. Most participants will be staying inside classrooms within the small school in the village; tents or mosquito netting within those classrooms is encouraged for full insect protection. If the group is larger, some people will be staying with locals in cabins within the village.

What are the amenities?

There are toilets, sinks and a shower. Internet is available for emergencies.

What should I pack?

A packing list and more information can be found here.

Why is there an application?

The Yawanawá of Aldeia Sete Estrelas are opening their community to foreigners for the first time, to receive their powerful medicines and stories. They have entrusted us organizers with the process of ensuring that the people who come on this trip will be coming with good intentions. This is a responsibility we take very seriously. We are using this application process to make sure everyone who joins is the right fit for this kind of deeply immersive trip. It also gives us information that we will use to balance the various activities and people in the group.

What is the application process?

Prospective participants will fill out this short form. You’ll then be contacted to set up a video call with Hilary and Maria, where we’ll share more information and you can ask as many questions as you like. Hilary, Maria and Clara will make the final decisions about who will be invited to join. Don’t stress though! We are just doing our due diligence to be responsible to the Indigenous community we are bringing people to 🙂

Where is the money going to?

All funds go towards paying for trip expenses, and compensating the Yawanawá people for their labours. As a community, they are using the funds to build infrastructure for future trips, as well as to recover from flooding and build infrastructure for climate resilience.

• Living, listening and being present •
• An immersion rooted in reciprocity, responsibility and respect for the community and territory •
• Ceremonies and traditional practices •