Our Team

Manuela Mahua comes from a long-standing and well-respected family lineage of Shipibo-Konibo healers from the upper and lower Ucayali regions of the Peruvian Amazon. Born in 1947, she began apprenticing with her father at age 13 and now has 60+ years of experience working with her ancestral medicine.

Today she heals and teaches, both Shipibo-Konibo and foreigners alike. She has a vast knowledge and understanding of the natural pharmacy of her land and is very open to sharing it with those who are willing to make the commitment to carry on the tradition.

Manuela is an altruistic, generous, and positive force. She cares deeply for all of her students and provides individual attention and care that only a great-grandmother can give. She embodies her given Shipibo-Konibo name Jakon Rate and truly is a Life-Giving Good Surprise for all who meet and learn with her!

Robertina Mahua is the eldest daughter of the late Pascual Mahua and is a Noyá Ráo maestra who has been working side-by-side with Manuela for the most part of the last 5 years. She’s 67 years old but did not begin her samá path until she was 52.

After decades of witnessing and interacting in the work of her father, uncles, and cousins she finally made her decision. Her principle motivation was to learn how to take care of herself and her family while she received encouragement, instruction, and support from her own father.

She began with two years of dedicated study with only Noyá Ráo and then began samá with Tobí Ráo to begin developing her massage and bone setting skills. She also has strong samá connections with Sémein (Bobinsana), Mókapari (Chiricsanango), Chullachaqui Caspi, and Marosa.

Delia Mahua is a renowned Shipibo-Konibo midwife who learned the trade from her maternal-grandmother at the age of 17.  Delia is Manuela’s first-cousin, the daughter of Pascual Mahua and younger sister of Robertina. Delia’s care, kindness, and beauty touches all those she meets and she is truly a tsiri ainbo, a ‘stunningly beautiful woman who always does what is right’.

She is a deeply cherished great-grandmother who remains a key provider of her family. Delia is the head chef, working together with her husband Jose, and prepares food for guests and students with dietary restrictions, along with traditional remedies. Delia’s presence spreads love throughout the land, food, and plant remedies that is felt by all who come to learn with us.