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Founded in 2018 by curandero Don Gardel and biomedical researcher Fabrizio Beverina, Paojilhuasca Amazonian Medicine Centre offers a unique gateway to the ancient healing powers of the Amazon. Our mission is to offer safe and authentic ayahuasca and plant medicine ceremonies at an affordable price, helping bring these transformative medicines into the hands of everyone seeing profound healing and personal growth. Paojilhuasca creates a bridge between tradition and science – between Don Gardel’s curandero lineage and Fabrizio’s academic background, we aim to provide an authentic experience informed by modern research.
Safety is always our highest priority. All guests are required to complete a comprehensive medical and psychological screening prior to arrival, which we will carefully review and contact you if we flag any potential concerns. Our affiliated physician, Dr. Caterina Conti, is available for remote consultations to answer any medical questions before and during your retreat. For in-person emergencies, Don Gardel is a trained nurse and lives on-site. We maintain a stock of essential medicines and first-aid supplies if needed. We strive to offer a safe retreat for everyone – regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
At Paojilhuasca, we are deeply committed to research, education, and empowerment. We work closely with our local community, including our neighbouring village of Paraiso, to sustainably support the local economy and provide opportunities for employment, education, and environmental awareness where possible. We believe in learning by doing, so we encourage all guests to take part in the preparation of medicine where possible, and to ask our experienced team about traditions and science of the medicines, practices, and ceremonies. With consent, we conduct ongoing research on long-term psychological change of our guests to contribute to the growing body of literature elucidating the mysterious powers of ayahuasca and plant medicine.
We try to keep our retreat prices affordable so that everyone, regardless of background, can experience the potentially life-changing benefits of these sacred medicines. We offer a reduced community price to one spot per week, so those who might need some extra help can receive it. Healing should never be out of reach.
Our retreat has been thoughtfully designed to nurture your journey, no matter where you are. The weekly schedule includes a variety of practices and activities to cater to all needs – from self-challenge to self-care, expression to reflection, and psychological to somatic. No activity is ever mandatory, but we encourage you to engage with the practices for a holistic experience.
We centre our retreat around three primary themes:
Body – Our Western society places overemphasis on the mind – understanding, analyzing, overthinking. Here we encourage you to get back into your body – be present with each action, notice the sensations you feel, and care for your physical body through movement and exercise. Each day we incorporate physical practices, including Qigong, breathwork, yoga, and workouts to help you reconnect to your body. When you find yourself stuck in your head, try to move it through your body: take a walk in the rainforest, swim in the river, create art, or journal. As you do so, notice how you feel.
Nature – We belong to nature, yet we often feel deeply disconnected from it. At Paojilhuasca, you have the chance to slow down, listen, and observe the beauty of the natural world around you. Notice the light dappling the canopy, the chorus of frogs and insects at night, and the butterflies fluttering by the riverside. Take the time to foster stillness in nature, and notice how you feel. Between the Itaya River on one side and ancient rainforest on the other, our retreat is nestled in the wild beauty of the Amazon. We incorporate guided jungle walks in our schedule, and guests are welcome to follow the paths and safety explore on their own. We also encourage guests to take part in harvesting or preparing medicinal plants where possible.
Community – Humans are tribal creatures at heart, yet so many of us have lost that connection to the medicine of community. Our traditionally hand-built maloca is the heart of our retreat, where you’ll find hammocks, books, art supplies, and instruments (along with our very friendly cats!). The maloca provides a container for community – whether that’s sitting in silence journalling together, sharing ceremony experiences, or just getting to know each other. Everyone has something they can teach you. Our talking circles, held three times weekly, also provide a structured and non-judgemental space for you to share and be truly heard.
Working with plant medicine can be intense, and part of the hard work is learning when to rest. We live in a Western society where constant work and productivity is equated to success. Here in the jungle, we do value hard work – and we also value rest. Give yourself time to be lazy, and let yourself feel bored. Even when you feel like you’re doing nothing, your body and mind are taking the time they need to digest your experiences. Try to rest, feel, and listen. Your body will thank you.
Our retreat is what you make of it. Whereas some might want challenge, others need care; whereas some need community, others might want solitude. We provide the structure, but your days are always yours to create. Our compassionate team is here to support you in any way we can.
At Paojilhuasca, transformation extends beyond our guests it embraces the local community as well. Every week we source fresh fruit, fish, and other essentials directly from more than fifteen local families, ensuring that the village economy thrives through sustainable and meaningful support. In this way, the nourishment provided to our visitors also uplifts the families who call the Amazon home.
Our mission also includes creating opportunities for education and growth. We provide free internet access to local children, opening doors to learning, knowledge, and the chance to study English. Through dignified employment, both women and men find meaningful work at Paojilhuasca, with at least eight local team members supported daily and even more during construction and development projects.
Beyond economics, our commitment extends to the environment and cultural preservation. We actively collaborate with the village school to nurture environmental awareness and teach children the importance of protecting the jungle that sustains us all. In this way, Paojilhuasca becomes more than a retreat it is a living bridge between cultures, people, and nature, creating ripples of healing and hope that flow far beyond our center.
Co-Founder, Curandero, Ayahuasquero, Kambocero, Nurse
Don Gardel was born into the medicine. His grandfather was a shaman, and all of his brothers walk the same path. He spent eight months living with the Matsés, where he learned kambo at its source, then trained with La Maestra Alicia and other shamans along the Napo River and deep in the jungle. For more than thirty years he has served plant medicine to his community, and locals often travel from other villages to receive his diagnoses and treatments. Today he is the curandero at the heart of Paojilhuasca and its co-founder, alongside working as the mayor of the neighbouring village of Paraiso. He typically leads Tuesday ayahuasca ceremonies and oversees all Kambo sessions and Kambo course trainings. As a trained nurse from Peru, he is also the center’s on-site medical presence.
His ceremonies are full of life. Don Gardel works with drumming and a wide variety of powerful icaros, and the energy in the maloca can be vibrant and uplifting. It’s not unusual for guests to get up and dance or clap along as the songs move through the room.
Outside ceremony, Don Gardel is warm, playful, and deeply involved in daily life at the center. He leads the jungle walks, introducing guests to the medicinal plants that grow around them and what they have meant to his people for generations. He loves to share his culture and knowledge and is always happy to answer questions (we can provide Spanish translation assistance). He also helps look after the physical upkeep of the retreat, which means the place feels like a home he tends as much as a center he leads.
Ayahuasquera, Vegetalista
Maestra Alicia comes from a family of tabaqueros, healers who work with the plant of tobacco. She drank her first tobacco at eight years old. After a serious life crisis at a young age, she turned to plant medicine for personal healing – and discovered her true calling. She engaged in long dietas with ayahuasca to develop her skills and wisdom. For years she lived along the Momón River, in one of the most remote corners of the Peruvian Amazon, healing the people who came to her and practicing the medicine in the solitude of the jungle. She was Don Gardel’s Maestra, and it was through Gardel’s involvement with Paojilhuasca that she came to work for the center.
At Paojilhuasca, Maestra Alicia holds ceremony in alternation with Don Gardel, bringing a feminine balance into the maloca. She normally leads the Friday ceremony – a softer counterpoint to a high-energy Tuesday ceremony with Don Gardel. Though the ceremony might sound gentler, her trance-like icaros and rhythmic maracas guide participants deep into their own psyche, creating a safe space for powerful experiences to emerge.
Maestra’s power comes from her deep humility. Away from ceremony, you will most likely find her working in the kitchen. She is a talented, passionate cook who prepares most of the meals for our guests, and she is often chatting and laughing there with staff and guests alike.
Before departure, Maestra closes your retreat with the final ritual of integration. She sings an icaro of protection specifically to you, to help shield you as you step out of the forest and return to everyday life. For many guests it is a quiet, deeply moving farewell, and a reminder that the care they’ve received at the center follows them home.
Co-founder & director, biomedical researcher, kambo & bufo practitioner
Fabrizio came to the Amazon by a long road. He trained as a biomedical engineer at the Politecnico di Milano, spending years in research on brain-signal interfaces and affective computing. His work earned him a patent and over a thousand academic citations. Seeking a more fulfilling lifestyle, he moved to China and lived there for twelve years. He found a new home there in the mountains, where he created an anarchic arts community and dove deeper into personal spiritual practices. He studied tai chi, Qigong, meditation and various Buddhist traditions. These practices helped him develop the grounded and somatic approach which still guides his work today.
Following a significant life crisis, Fabrizio left the country and travelled South America, where he discovered the power of plant medicine. He lived six months with a shaman in Colombia and spent extended periods of time with the Varinawá in Brazil, learning Ayahuasca, mambe, rapé and sananga from the indigenous tribes of their origin. After these apprentices, Fabrizio and Don Gardel created Paojilhuasca under a shared vision: to share the transformative power of these Amazonian medicines with the Western world, while staying true to their indigenous roots.
Today Fabrizio directs the center. He runs morning Qigong and serves Yopo, Kambo, and Bufo as needed. His scientific mind lends itself to the evidence-based approaches and safety protocols in place at the retreat. He leads the center’s research with the Universities of Pisa and Chieti, contributing to the growing body of literature measuring the physiological and psychological impacts of Amazonian plant medicine. He writes for Reality Sandwich and his Substack, “The Science of the Sacred”, and is the author of “Le Ali dell’Ayahuasca” (Ortica Editore) and co-author of “Drinking the Serpent”.
Lead facilitator, Tarot Reader, Yoga Teacher, Sound Healer, & Kambo Practitioner
Dominic first arrived at Paojilhuasca with a deep calling to immerse himself in self-discovery. Through extensive master plant dietas and over one hundred ayahuasca ceremonies, he developed a profound connection to Amazonian plant medicine and its traditions. Today, he supports the cents daily operations, facilitates guest activities, provides integration support, and helps ensure a safe and supportive ceremonial environment.
With an understanding of the subtle, symbolic language of ayahuasca, Dominic draws upon his personal experiences to help others navigate their own journeys toward self-realization. Deeply influenced by the works of Carl G. Jung and Alejandro Jodorowsky, his approach explores the unconscious mind, shadow work, symbolism, and tarot. He also offers complimentary tarot readings to guests during their stay, providing another avenue for reflection and self-exploration.
Beyond his work with plant medicine, Dominic is a yoga teacher, sound healer, Kambo practitioner, and social media manager. He is also the co-author of the center’s book, “Drinking the Serpent”. Having navigated his own personal challenges on the path toward healing and self-discovery, Dominic believes that our deepest wounds can become sources of wisdom, compassion, and gifts to share with the world. His intention is to empower others to embrace their shadows, recognize their inherent potential, and rediscover their true essence.
Facilitator, Psychedelic Integration Coach, Kambo Practitioner
Kate brings a warm, nurturing feminine presence to Paojilhuasca, helping guests feel deeply held and at ease from the moment they arrive. Having walked this same path herself as a former participant, she provides grounded, empathetic support to answer questions and soothe anxieties before, during, and after ceremony.
Kate’s curiosity and passion for the natural world first led her to developing an academic background in molecular ecology and genetics. Her first ceremonies with Ayahuasca were profoundly beautiful, but they quickly shifted into a dark and arduous two-year period of integration as she struggled to reconcile the mystical with her scientific mind. Eight months in, a spontaneous Kundalini awakening further upended her reality – and ultimately sparked her calling in integration support, especially to those struggling with spiritual emergence and ontological shock.
Kate facilitates our free virtual bi-weekly integration circles, offering a safe, communal space for past guests to reconnect with the medicine, process ongoing insights, and integrate their journey alongside others. Since completing her certification as a Psychedelic Integration Coach, Kate also offers private integration coaching sessions (independent of her facilitator role at Paojilhuasca) to anyone wishing to dive deeper into their experiences and find support anchoring transformative insights into daily life.
Medical Doctor, Breathwork Coach, Mindfulness Facilitator, Kambo Practitioner
Caterina is an integrative health practitioner and former medical doctor bridging modern science with ancestral healing wisdom. After training and working in Western general and emergency medicine, Caterina stepped away from conventional practice, disillusioned by a healthcare system that views health merely as the absence of illness rather than a holistic aspect of life. She felt the need for more prevention and true care.
Seeking a deeper approach to well-being, she learned and got trained in breathwork (GRIT Academy) then spent two years at Paojilhuasca Medicine Centre facilitating breathing sessions and supporting participants through traditional plant medicine preparation and integration. Dedicated to compassionate communication and safety, her mission is to guide individuals toward inner strength and clarity, fostering true health as a vibrant, creative, and evolving journey.
Today, Caterina continues her affiliation with Paojilhuasca remotely, offering our guests virtual consultations to answer medical questions or address any potential health concerns before or during retreats. She lends her wide experience in breathwork and mindfulness practices to ongoing developments to our integration resources, including the Integration Compass app. Every month, she guides virtual group breathwork sessions for past guests to reconnect to their inner environments and support embodied integration.
She additionally offers private breathwork sessions for life management, resilience, and self-exploration, alongside tailored psychedelic and plant medicine integration plans.
A week on the Itaya River, in a small group, with time to slow down and listen. Diverse somatic practices to reconnect to your body, immerse yourself in nature’s beauty, and rediscover the medicine of authentic community. The whole time, be supported by our caring team – before, during, and after your stay. If you feel called, drop us a message and secure your place today.
YOUR TIME IN THE AMAZON AWAITS
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