We had the pleasure of hosting Sabine Desprats, a photographer from France, during one of our ayahuasca retreats. Though Sabine chose not to participate in the ayahuasca ceremonies, she took stunning photos around Sacha Wasi, the Kichwa indigenous community where we work.
For nearly a decade, Taita Alejandro has been hosting ayahuasca retreats in the Kichwa indigenous community of Sacha Wasi, about an hour outside of Puyo, Ecuador. Who we are is defined by this wonderful community, made up of 14 families, that also comprise our team.
Located only 45 minutes by car from Puyo, Sacha Wasi is an ideal location to hold retreats. It’s close enough the the city in case an emergency arises, yet far enough removed from noise and urban life, inviting guests to decompress, disconnect from electronic devices and, instead, connect with nature.
There are numerous Kichwa indigenous communities in this area offering ecotourism activities to travelers and Sacha Wasi is one of these. However, because of a long-standing relationship with Alejandro, it is one of the few Kichwa indigenous communities to offer multi-day ayahuasca retreats.
We know that buying into community ecotourism experiences might be a turn off for many international travelers, but these activities are crucial to the sustainability of Kichwa indigenous communities like Sacha Wasi. Without income from ecotourism activities, more of the community’s members would have to migrate to Puyo and other larger cities to work in construction or retail. Their way of life in the rainforest would be compromised and community life would dwindle. We’ll be posting more about this topic in the future, stay tuned!
The above images illustrate some scenes around the community, including the maloca, where ayahuasca ceremonies often take place. Also photographed are some of the community members during the welcome dance and showing off their pet boa.
Sabine, if you’re reading this, thank you again for generously sharing your beautiful images. We hope to see you again – maybe next time you’ll dare to try ayahuasca 🙂 Follow Sabine and her work on Facebook, Instagram and on her website.
