Tourist boom for ayahuasca a mixed blessing for Amazon
Tourist boom for ayahuasca a mixed blessing for Amazon
Short supply of plant has led to uptake in commercial planting, use of dangerous alternatives and fears of deforestation
Max Opray
Tuesday 24 January 2017 00.00 EST
Seated beneath the domed ceiling of a ceremony hall in Peru’s Sacred Valley, Martin (not his real name) picks some fruit out of the communal bowl.
“Basically, I confirmed what I’ve always known anyway – plants are sentient and self-aware, far more than we realise,” he says, before biting down into an apple.
The Dutch traveller has just emerged from several hours of what he believes were visions of the universe’s true nature after drinking a traditional Amazon medicine known as ayahuasca. The psychoactive concoction attracts thousands of foreigners annually to new-age healing retreats in Peru and neighbouring countries.
Traditionally, indigenous healers, known as curanderos, drink ayahuasca in order to diagnose their patients, whereas foreign-orientated retreats have the patients do the drinking.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jan/24/tourist-boom-peru-ayahuasca-drink-amazon-spirituality-healing
