Chinchilejo e.i.r.l. (Dragonfly in Quechua) is sponsoring the 4th Amazonian Shamanism Conference in Iquitos, Peru. They are hosts to Soga Del Alma (Vine of the Soul) and invited guest Presenters and healers. The very experienced Presenters and Healers (shamans-curanderos) will be presenting lectures on various Amazonian healing techniques as well as alternative types of natural medicines. These curanderos (male and female) are those that typically use Ayahuasca or San Pedro in order to heal people, reguraly drink these medicinas and carry this knowledge with them in order to help other people make contact with the Vine and cactus and thereby get the knowledge they need to rebalance their beings, their lives and keep on living wisely, with open eyes on the World.
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In this 30th installment of the web's favorite shamanic singularitarian podcast, KMO gets a post Dopestock eye-witness account from Black Beauty, concludes his conversation with author Albert K. Bates, and talks at length with Alan Shoemaker, in Iquitos, Peru about ayahuasca, hard-headed materialist skeptics, and the upcoming 3rd annual shamanism conference in Iquitos.

Albert K. Bates: He's got a Wikipedia entry and a website, so go explore.

Take a walking tour of the Ecovillage Training Center on the Farm with Albert:

Alan Shoemaker: When you Google for "Alan Shoemaker," his essay "Magic to Miracles: Curanderismo - Mestizo Ayahuasca" turns up at the top of the search results page. You can read that here:

He also has a bio on the Soga Del Alma site:

Folks interested in the Shamanism Conference can learn more about that here:

If you register, be sure to indicate on the form that KMO sent ya'. I'll receive a portion of your registration fee. If 10 C-Realm Listeners sign up, then that will cover my travel expenses, and I will be able to attend the conference. We'll have a special C-Realm ayahuasca ceremony during the conference. If you sign up, be sure to send me an email and let me know.

You can see photos and read trip reports from our month-long stay with Alan and his family here:

In this episode we conclude the conversation with Stephen Gaskin. We also hear from Cliff Davis, the head gardener and site coordinator for the Ecovillage Training Center on the Farm, about the basic principles of permaculture. Alan Shoemaker makes a return visit to explain exactly how to get to Iquitos for the Amazonian Shamanism conference.

Here's the link to the article that Patrick/Cakestr sent me.

Also, the Wikipedia entry for Permaculture is worth checking out.

In this episode I play the talk by Dennis McKenna that opened the first Amazonian Shamanism Conference back in 2005. It's called "Ayahuasca and Human Destiny" and is followed by a Q&A session.

Dennis McKenna

Dr. McKenna brings more than 25 years experience in biosciences, biochemistry and pharmacognosy to the Center for Spirituality and Healing, where he is a senior lecturer on topics that include ethnopharmacology and botanical medicines in health care.

Dr. McKenna earned his Master's degree in botany at the University of Hawaii in 1979 and his doctorate of botanical sciences at the University of British Columbia in 1984. Since that time, his wide-ranging experience includes serving as the Director of Ethnopharmacology at Shaman Pharmaceuticals and as senior research pharmacognosist for Aveda Corporation in Minneapolis, Minn.

He is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Natural Products Research and editor-in-chief of two publications: The Natural Dietary Supplements Pocket Reference (INPR, 2002) and Botanical Medicines: The Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements (Haworth Herbal Press, 2002). He serves on the Advisory Board of the American Botanical Council and the Editorial Board of Phytomedicine, the International Journal of Phytotherapy and Phytopharmacology. he is the author or co-author of more than 35 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. McKenna has special interest Ethnopharmacology, botanical medicines, natural products and drug discovery and medical applications of psychedelic agents.

KMO talks with Alan Shoemaker about the practicalities of lodging at the Soga del Alma site, and then we hear Peter Gorman's presentation entitled "Flailing in the Dark" about his experiences in the Peruvian Amazon with ayahuasca and other plant teachers.