Karo's Amazon Rainforest Medicine Studies

Piyalli! (Saludos, greetings!)

I am excited and humbled to share that I have been accepted to volunteer with a Shipibo community in the Amazon Rainforest in Peru. I will learn hands-on about traditional plant medicines and work as a translator. The opportunity to live and learn directly with Indigenous lineage carriers of these medicines is priceless. It is an unpaid experience, but the knowledge I will gain is valuable beyond measure. It is a 6-month commitment, and I will leave for Peru at the end of September 2021.

I currently live as a folk medicine maker and herbalist. For nearly 15 years, I have been providing these skills to family and friends. During most of that time, I was able to provide care, consultations and plant remedies at a low cost and no-cost thanks to a thriving career producing events. The global pandemic brought my career in event production to a sudden pause in March 2020. I was able to pivot and apply my herbalism training, Ayurvedic wellness counseling, and holistic medicine studies to support my community. I now have the unique opportunity to deepen my practice of traditional Indigenous healing in the heart of where most modern medicine comes from.

We have gained so much from Indigenous cultures and their homelands. The majority of modern pharmacology is rooted in plant medicine from the Amazon Rainforest. With your support, this is a chance for me to give back directly through service and continue my education.

If you are able, please support this educational journey in any of the ways shared here:

AUG-SEP 2020 [Sessions + Botanica CLOSED until Spring 2022]

• Follow me on IG @botanica.sana and see Elixir Menu highlight for descriptions and pricing of available plant elixirs. Message me to place an order. I will close the Botanica on 9/20 to fulfill orders in time before departure to Peru.
• Book a session for yourself, or gift a session to somebody you care about, via https://calendly.com/karosana. I offer holistic health counseling for physical, emotional and spiritual matters, herbalism consultations, Ayurvedic analysis, meditation instruction and breath work. 

Donations and financial gifts are appreciated anytime:

• Send a gift via Venmo (@karosana), CashApp ($karosana) or PayPal.me/aminasana.
• Donate via GoFundMe and/or share this GoFundMe with your community.

Your contributions will go towards the following:

• Flights to and from Peru.
• Land and river travel expenses throughout the Amazon Rainforest.
• Living expenses for 6 months, which will directly support the Shipibo community I will be living with, as well as other local Amazonian communities and their businesses.
• Preservation of traditional medicine knowledge by supporting these Indigenous communities and my continuing education.

Practicing holistic medicine is about helping others, as well as healing myself. As a Nic'anáhuac person of Indigenous descent, I am living the experience of multicultural and intergenerational healing. On a practical level, your support helps me offset the cost of continuing education and volunteer service, but the value of your contributions are immeasurable in terms of ancestral and community healing. As I continue to study and practice, I witness that healing is interdependent and never linear. My purpose is to facilitate individual healing and recovery so that we may be part of the evolutionary shift towards our collective liberation.

Thank you for supporting these efforts in the ways that feel accessible for you. Tlaskamati (gracias, thank you) for reading about my journey.

Karo Carolina Salinas

Please leave a comment if you have blessings to share, or an interest to learn more about this educational healing adventure.