If you’re a healer working with natural healing modalities, join a great diversity of healing professionals from around the globe practicing natural medicine & therapies who join Paititi Institute for the Intercultural Healing Exchange program. The first half of the program is held in Peru’s beautiful Sacred Valley. From there, we’ll travel as a group to share clinic in a small village in the Paucartambo region, an area deep in Andes where medical services are limited.

This program offers a powerful opportunity for students and long-time practitioners alike to more deeply awaken the path of service while simultaneously enhancing your practice. Come experience Andean and Amazonian healing traditions and share  the gifts of your inner-healer with native Peruvian communities.

Paititi Institute is dedicated to building bridges across cultures, traditions and generations for the timeless essence to blossom today in the most relevant and practical way.

Amazonian and Andean traditions when skilfully approached with the support of Jungian Transpersonal and Buddhist psychologies provide an invitation to uncover the innate source of creative healing potential that exists in Nature and every living organism. These traditions offer a direct non-conceptual experience that can greatly enhance the many different healing modalities from around the world and deepen individual insight into the workings of the healing arts.

These native healing traditions are non-sectarian and support an objective insight into truth as a remembrance of the original natural state rather than just a theoretical philosophy.     

After the first week dedicated to the activation of one’s innermost healing potential in the Sacred Valley of the Incas we have the opportunity to share the awakened heart of the healer with the native population that these traditions originated from that need rekindling today. The regions we are working in are considered to be the most impoverished in Peru. These communities today recognize allopathic medicine more than their native techniques and remedies, while having  minimal access to modern healthcare.

Since the locals mostly interact with foreigners as tourists and consumerists, it can be very healing to share in this gift from the heart that recognizes the humanity in both the foreigners and locals. Local healers often join our initiative to cultivate trust of the native healing traditions back into their own heritage.

The intercultural bridges are also made between the allopathic and natural holistic healing traditions. A Peruvian MD doctor who speaks the native Quechua language will be available in cases of emergency as well as to document the efficacy of natural healing methods within the national healthcare system. Other western medicine professionals  may be available such as dental surgeons, physical therapists, and psychologists who are interested in integrative healing approaches and are inspired by this evolutionary path of greater service to humanity.

Program Overview

This program is designed for healers to deepen their personal healing experience and embrace the essential reciprocity inherent in nature. Intercultural exchange is a core value of Paititi Institute and we’re inspired to create this container in order for healers to both learn and share, to heal and to offer healing.

As an essential part of the Intercultural Healing Exchange Program, participants experience firsthand the Andean and Amazonian indigenous medicine and transformation practices, a learning process that accounts for roughly 50% of your stay. These healing traditions have the ability to greatly amplify your individual healing capacity as a natural medicine practitioners. The retreat includes at least one Ayahuasca ceremony and one San Pedro ceremony facilitated by Roman Hanis.

During the second half of the retreat, we’ll travel together to a remote area of the Andes, time will be dedicated to offering service in a natural medicine clinic which will be set up in a small mountain village. This can involve treating hundreds of local people from a wide range of health conditions.

Additional cultural activities will be included throughout the retreat. Activities may include the opportunity to learn about medicinal plants from Peru, hike in the incredible Andean mountains, visit ruins, learn about traditional weaving, and connect with local healers.

The Clinic

Clinics will be held in a small village in the Paucartambo region (about 4-5 hours travel from the Sacred Valley) where access to both natural and occidental health care support is limited.

The core of the clinic is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, we welcome healers from a wide range of natural medicine modalities to participate. Common modalities incorporated include Physical Therapy, Chiropractic treatments, Craniosacral Therapy, Massage Therapy, Reiki, Homeopathy and Nutrition. Additional modalities are welcomed and depending on the skills and experience of the practitioners present, the clinic format will be adjusted. Feel free to write us if your healing modality isn’t listed here to see if it’s appropriate for the clinic setting.

Various skill levels from beginner to advanced are welcomed. The variety of roles in clinics are adjusted to match the participant’s level and experience. Regardless of your experience level, we work to find a role where each participant can be most engaged.

The healing clinics are overseen by a local MD doctor, Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors, and Andean or Amazonian medicine men and/or women. All patients go through an intake process with a designated team and a recommended treatment is prepared for healers to follow as a guideline. The level of guidance will vary depending on each participant’s level of experience and students are welcome.

Clinic days tend to vary. Some days are quieter with a little down time and other clinic days will keep you on your toes with long lines of patients. Be prepared to work hard and be on your feet all day.

Read the Information & Preparation Package for additional Details >>

Contribution (14 days)

The contribution for this retreat is based on a sliding scale:

Retreat Contribution: $1300 – 1500 USD
Early Bird Contribution: $1200 – 1500 USD (if registered by December 1st)
Registered Students: $1100 – 1500 (proof of registration required)
Past IHE Participants: $925 (at cost) – $1500

Some scholarships are available for students, local Peruvians and others from developing countries with financial limitations. Contact us directly to discuss.

Why we have a Contribution and how we calculate it:

This retreat is not purely a volunteer service retreat but involves the reciprocity of both giving and receiving. We make an effort to keep our costs down so we can make this retreat as accessible as possible. As an organization, we have a transparency policy. and the following is our actual per person cost for running this program. If we’re able to reduce our cost based on higher-than-average participation we will extend an additional discount to the group enrolled.

Estimate cost per person

• Food (food cost and cooks): $215
• Lodging Cost: $225
• Transportation during retreat to clinics: $35
• Facilitators travel and expenses: $175
• Ceremonies and herb class (includes 1 Ayahuasca ceremony, 1 San Pedro ceremony, Quero Despacho Ceremony, Herb Class, and Cacao
• Ceremony): $170
• Supplies: $30
• Marketing: $15
• Administration: $65
  TOTAL estimated cost per person: $925 USD
  This cost does not include paying any of our main facilitators who all volunteer their time.

Please understand that there must be a small mark-up for this program to be sustainable as there can always be some unexpected costs. Since we’re a fully self-funded organization, income is essential to continue to evolve and grow our service. Additional income is donated towards the development of community outreach programs and establishing a natural medicine clinic in the Sacred Valley that will run all year around.

Terms & Refund policy:

• A 30% deposit is required to register via credit card which is made during the online application process. If you are not accepted into this program, your payment will be fully refunded.
• Your balance must be paid in full at least 6 weeks prior to the start of the program (April 21) to guarantee your reservation. We’ll charge your credit card on file automatically on this date. If you wish to use a different card, it is your responsibility to contact us.
• Your deposit is non-refundable but if you cancel within 6 weeks of the program start date, we can transfer your deposit to a future program minus a 10% admin fee.
• For cancellations before 6 weeks of the start date, payments are non-refundable and will only be transferable to a future program if we can fill your place in the retreat. We will try our best to do so.
• The contribution is non-refundable and non-transferable once the program begins.
• We reserve the right to cancel this retreat if our minimum number of participants is not met 6 weeks prior to the start date. All payments will be fully refunded if the program is canceled. In case of cancelation, Paititi does not assume responsibility for any travel expenses previously arranged.
• Additional terms are outlined in our “Terms, Conditions, Release Of Liability & Assumption Of Risk” document which each participants agrees to by submitting an application.

Testimonials

“I participated in the Intercultural Healing Exchange program a couple years ago in Peru with the Paititi Institute. My reflections on this experience include a multitude of beautiful, profound, and life-long memories. An acupuncture student at the time, I was drawn to expand my education beyond the classroom, as well as receive inspiration and knowledge from other practitioners and students of medicine, deepening my personal journey into being a healer. What I received was much more than I imagined or expected. I gained friendships to last a life-time, and now have colleagues to connect with around the country. The environment itself was healing, educational, inspirational, restful, and deeply nourishing. We had time for stillness, rest, connection, journaling, singing, purification, learning about healing herbs and permaculture, and the ability to practice our medicine. We were fed delicious and nourishing foods and a cleansing and purifying diet. Roman and Cynthia are truly serving this world in so many ways. The clinic environment was deeply touching, seeing the gratitude and vulnerability of the native people, and that they truly benefit and need medical intervention. Their access to help is limited and they have endured so much in their way of life. This is something I would return to do countless times as the reward is priceless and deeply healing. I highly recommend the Intercultural Healing Exchange for any student or practitioner of medicine who wants to dive deeper and be supported in the self discovery of the healer they aspire to be. This is truly an opportunity for deep personal growth, gratitude for life, and an overall joyful and positive experience. It is when we meet our edges that we soften and begin to unfold into the potential of our deepest spiritual self, and integrate this in our daily life.”

–Christine Vladeck ~ Boulder, Colorado

Additional Information

Watch a talk by Paititi director, Roman Hanis, about the Healing Traditions of the Amazon and Andes:

Watch Paititi directors and co-founders, Roman & Cynthia, give an informational webinar about this program from 2017: