The Work

Your time here focuses on permaculture principles, deep observation, planning, and pioneering infrastructure. Time is spent building, drawing, mapping, visioning, designing, meditating, making offerings, cooking, planting, hiking, exploring, transforming and healing landscapes, both inside and out.

As a community we work to harmonize with the natural cycles of the day, the land, and the seasons. Most days we wake at sunrise and head to bed in the early evening, making an effort to share in daily practice and daily check-in meetings. The kitchen is always a busy place and the service group will rotate through kitchen duties.

We’ll focus on a number of community projects during this time, many of which will be planned together with the permaculture service group in weekly strategy meetings. Some key elements we expect to focus on include:

• Planting vegetable gardens and trees
• Working on water flow designs for the property and implementing portions of the designs
• Emergency training and planning
• Natural building projects (working with stone and adobe)
• Remodeling/refinishing existing structures and overall master planning design process

Participants have the opportunity to immerse into life’s natural cycles while learning to collaborate with a community though uniting in shared heart and vision.

As an essential and core part of this process, we explore deeply what it means to be stewards of nature in this enchanted land where, for thousands of years, the ancestors of humanity cultivated the same intention.

Be prepared to have your comfort zone challenged. Work can be hard, sweaty, and dirty but also deeply fulfilling, grounding, fun, and a great way to gain knowledge and connect deeply to the inherent true nature in all of us.

To learn more about our philosophy of Shamanic Permaculture please read Cynthia’s blog article on the subject >>

Please note that this session will most likely NOT include Ayahuasca or Huachuma initiations. During this session, we’ll be working with the sacred plant medicine of Coca in addition to the profound medicine of the mountains. In the potential that sacred plant ceremonies are offered there will be an additional contribution for these ceremonies for those who wish to attend.

Participation Requirements:

• Minimum participation is one month. Participants may not have the opportunity to leave the center during this time except in the case of an emergency and should arrange their personal affairs so that you can stay for the duration. Each participant will have one personal day per week.
• Permaculture service participants should be healthy and in good physical shape. During this program, you’ll be on your feet much of the day and will do a lot of walking in the mountains. At this time, while the road is still being built, there’s a 2+ hour hike into the property. In addition, many tasks on the property itself involve steep ascents and descents.
• There are many unknown elements as we embrace this early phase of establishing roots in the mountains and we’ll working with simple, young infrastructure. Those who join should be willing and able to embrace this with a positive, solutions-oriented attitude. Participants should be comfortable living in a tent, taking refreshing cold showers or bathing in a creek, living with minimal solar electricity, solving unexpected challenges, and hiking steep terrain.
• Work Study Service participants must be a minimum of 21 years old. Younger participants may be accepted with letters of recommendation. Contact us to discuss.
• Previous completion in a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) is a plus but not required. (Please note this Work Study Service track is not a PDC).
• All work study service participants must be physically and mentally healthy and stable. If you have a chronic and/or debilitating health condition this program is not appropriate for you at this time. Instead, we‘re happy to work with you as a patient where we can offer the proper support in your healing process. Read more about working with us as a patient >>
• All participants are required to have personal travel insurance with emergency evacuation coverage. More details can be found in the info and prep document.

Testimonial

Contribution

Participant Contribution: $600 USD

Some scholarships may be available for those with financial limitations. Contact us to inquire.

Extended Stay:

It is an option to extend your stay. If you’re interested in extending your stay past the end date of this shamanic permaculture program, it’s not necessary to apply again. Please note how long you wish to stay in your application and email us to discuss availability.

• During the second month of service the contribution is $20 a day.
• During the third month of service the contribution is $15 a day.
• After 3 months potential scholarship sponsorship (non-paying roles) may be available upon review. In some cases scholarship may be possible sooner than 3 months.

Terms & Refund Policy: 

• We accept deposits via credit card which are made during the online application process. If you are not accepted to join for the program, your payment will be fully refunded.
• Your remaining balance is to be submitted in cash (USD) on the first day of the program. Please bring CRISP, UNCREASED dollar bills as we cannot use old or damaged bills here in Peru.
• Your deposit is refundable with 3 months advanced notice (from the start date). Any refunds given (once accepted into the retreat) are subject to a 10% admin fee.
• After 3 months the 30% deposit is NOT refundable but is transferable to a future Paititi Institute program provided we receive your cancelation notice a minimum of 6 weeks prior to the start date. Transferred credits are valid for up to 2 years. Any amount paid over 30% is refundable with 6 weeks notice.
• For cancellations within 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.
• Additional terms are outlined in our “Terms, Conditions, Release Of Liability & Assumption Of Risk” document which each participants agrees to by submitting an application.

Read the Info & Prep Package for Additional Details Before Registering >>