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. It is also a grounding first step for those new to ayahuasca who want to connect with the medicine before it meets them. Come work with your hands. Drink what you make. Leave with a relationship, not just a memory.

All meals are included and locally sourced, prepared fresh to nourish you through the physical and emotional demands of ceremony. The menu follows the dietary guidelines that support working with ayahuasca, with preparation and diet covered in your pre-retreat modules so you arrive ready. Both vegetarian and meat options are available. For those who eat meat, we serve chicken and fish. Vegetarian meals are fully catered for as well, so whether you prefer plant-based or include animal protein, you'll be well looked after. Dietary needs and restrictions are accommodated, the kitchen adjusts to the group, so share yours during the screening and preparation process.

Fly into Bogotá (BOG) and stay overnight, this gives you a buffer in case of any flight delays so you don't risk missing your onward connection. The next day, take a domestic flight to Puerto Asís (PUU) in Putumayo. We will pick you up at the Puerto Asís airport and provide your transport to the retreat. Two-way airport transfers are included, so we will also get you back to the airport at the end of your stay.