My arrival in Pucallpa was similar to arriving in Iquitos as the volunteer coordinator, Lupuna, from the SO met me at the airport. Once again, I did not need to figure out where to go in the city and could focus on getting to know my new acquaintance. Lupuna had found her way to the SO after wanting to engage with environmental work. With a history in creative arts and theatre and a completed bachelor's degree with her master's degree being on hold, she decided to join the SO at a time when the organisation was going through some major changes. With her Spanish not being optimal on arrival and a massive workload falling on a few people, she found herself in a steep learning curve in order to become acquainted with the SO.
We got into a mototaxi and started to talk about my time in Iquitos and I reflected on the work done at the AC on the way to the SO. After describing the plants that I had learned about
62
we realised that I had been with the same family of onanyas that the SO work with in Pucallpa. I was excited to hear this and that there was a workshop and an ayahuasca ceremony planned a few days after my arrival. The workshop would last two days and the volunteers were asked to stay on the property for the duration.
I acquainted myself with my room and the house before I went to the market. While there, some of the others had begun making dinner and Maca asked if I wanted some once I returned.
After a day of travelling and adapting to a new house and rhythm, such an invitation felt like warm socks on cold feet. I helped out where I could during preparations and felt welcomed around the dinner table. Chitchat about projects and people's backgrounds flowed as more volunteers came back to the house after a day of work. I greeted the new faces and grew eager as I began to realise the multinational make-up of volunteers and their motivations to work for the SO. We eventually sat on the veranda after cleaning up and I ended the evening talking about music with Woashimo, one of the founders of the SO.
The next day was spent preparing for the workshop and ceremony. I joined some of the others at the market and helped carry some of the food back to the house. We had enough stock such that now we didn't need to leave the property for a couple of days. A few of us would be responsible for preparing the food while the rest would take part in some planned events. Some of the other volunteers had also arrived just recently, so we spent some time talking about our backgrounds, what we were capable of contributing, how we envisioned our time at the SO, and what the organisation meant to them. We broke off into groups to discuss the various projects at the SO and whether we perceived any problematic areas in them. Afterwards, we discussed this in the group. We ended with a sensory workshop where we were blindfolded and asked to name an object that was placed in our hands or a smell that was wafted under our noses. We had a small bite to eat before we started to prepare for the ceremony.
We gathered in the main house after sunset, moved furniture out of the way, and brought in mattresses, buckets, and toilet paper. This was the very first ayahuasca ceremony for a few of the volunteers and they were nervous of what was to come. The onanya came to the house and we each found a spot on a mattress. The onanya followed many of the same steps as the onanyas at the AC did, but instead of sitting in one place and singing to everyone during the ceremony, she would sit in front of each participant and sing to them one by one. At the end, she lay down on her mattress, fell asleep instantly, and snored while the rest of us started to chat. A few took the opportunity to sing a song and Bii, one of the founders of the SO, told a story of a king who
63
had a tough lesson in learning from his mistakes. Sitting by candle light while listening to him speak was a captivating experience. We eventually started to feel tired and headed off to our rooms for the night.
The next morning was slow, with everyone trickling in to the main house as they woke up.
We started reminiscing over the ceremony and our experiences. Some of the first time drinkers were surprised about how they could traverse into different states of being and also about the friendly feel of the experience. Heliconia had felt like a monkey with long, wonky arms and I remembered seeing her flailing them in the air at a certain point. The sharing of insights and odd experiences led to some laughs and inquisitive discussions on plant medicines and the nature of being. Even though I had arrived only a few days earlier, it felt like I had been a part of the group for months. This was an interesting insight that is shared by my informants and reflects a conscious intention from the SO's founders.
I asked Bii about this in an interview and he said, "One of the things that really helps us with this [challenges related to work] is our relationship with ayahuasca. Because I feel like in some way, and it is very subtle, it gives us a frame of reference that is over and beyond any individual, a shared frame of reference. So, one of the things we have done is integrate ayahuasca
ceremonies with staff meetings. I think those have been incredibly helpful. Again many levels, as a shared experience, as a way for people to connect to one another more deeply, as a way of continuing to work and get deeper insights and clarifications about organizational issues. I feel like that’s been a huge help to us and also in terms of our work here with the Shipibo. Some people argue that ayahuasca is at the heart of Shipibo culture, so if we are an organisation that is working with Shipibo, the more our organisational structure reflects their reality, the better.
We always invite our Shipibo workers to participate in the ayahuasca ceremonies and that has also been fantastic to kind of create bonds and links with all the people who work here."
The use of ayahuasca at the SO to gain insights and clarifications about organisational issues run parallel with the traditional use of ayahuasca, where it was also used to gain insight into communal issues at hand. To finish off the workshop/retreat, we had another meeting where we talked about our experiences and if we felt inclined to take part in any specific projects other than those ascribed to our positions in the organisation. Some - myself included - felt inspired to take part in mending the garden at the property, as the majority of their work involved sitting in front of a computer. A few volunteers would also be leaving soon, which would involve a shift of the workload, leading some to take on new responsibilities.
64