Learn more about Kambo
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If it is your first time receiving Kambo, you will receive a test point and basic treatment with points on the upper arm.
If it is your first time receiving a micro-dose, you will receive a single point (or less) on the ankle.
If it is not your first time, we can discuss other targeted approaches (chakra, meridian or auricular points).
We will discuss how many points to apply, and where. I will burn the gates and you will then drink 1.5 liters of water.
Kambo is applied to small, superficial burns which allows it to safely enter the body through the lymphatic system. Once the secretion circulates through the body, there is usually a strong physical reaction that includes a feeling of heat, pressure in the head, an increase in heart rate, a drop in blood pressure, nausea and oftentimes purging. The effects are usually felt within seconds to minutes after application and the process typically lasts between 20 and 40 minutes, after which the sensations subside and one is generally left feeling calm, tired or energized.
A private session typically lasts around 2.5-3 hours from start to finish. Groups can last around 3-4 hours, depending on group size.
Tea, coconut water and/or fruit will be provided afterwards.
Most people rest for 15-30 minutes immediately after their session and tend to feel grounded and mostly “back” from the experience after this rest period.
The benefits from a Kambo session are not usually felt immediately but are typically experienced in the following days, weeks and even months. It is a powerful healing and restorative process for the body
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The day before, day of and day after your treatment, please abstain from alcohol, fried and heavily processed foods. There is no specific, traditional dieta with Kambo but it is recommended to eat a clean diet as much as possible to reduce the toxic burden on the body. It’s important that you do not abstain from salt - if you are doing a no-salt dieta in the time prior to receiving Kambo, please discuss this with me.
Fast from all foods and medications for 8 hours prior to receiving Kambo. This is very important.
The morning of Kambo, you can have a small amount of water or herbal tea (16 oz max) and no caffeine or stimulants. You will drink a large quantity of water immediately before the medicine goes on and I will monitor your water intake to ensure safety. It is very important that you do not drink a lot of water before coming to your session.
It is helpful to have an intention – emotional, spiritual or physical – for working with Kambo. Remembering your intention during the session can be very grounding and help you to stay focused and navigate through the process.
Please wear comfortable clothing that allows access to where you would like to receive the points (upper arm or back, for example) and bring 1 gallon of water, clothing layers (your temperature will likely fluctuate), a change of clothes and a hair tie if you have long hair.
Please avoid wearing dangling jewelry that can get in the way. And please don't wear contact lenses if you would like to receive sananga eye drops.
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Rapeh and sananga are optional medicines that are included in a session.
Rapeh is a traditional Amazonian medicine that has been used by the tribes of the Amazon for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. It is made from a combination of plants including mapacho (sacred tobacco) and is blown into the nose using an applicator called a tepi or kuripe. Rapeh can be used to clear blockages, to provide a feeling of groundedness, to clear energy and to aid in meditation.
Sananga eye drops are an extract made from the root of the Tabernaemontana undulata plant in the Amazon jungle. When applied to the eyes, there is an initial period of burning that quickly subsides. Sananga is said to increase visual acuity, improve cataracts, glaucoma, night vision and color/depth perception. It is also said to cleanse energy, clear panema, enhance connection to intuition and to improve one's figurative vision. If you would like to receive sananga, please do not wear contact lenses to your session.
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I recommend giving yourself time and space to rest after your Kambo experience. Taking the day off, if possible, is highly recommended.
Taking a nap, eating a grounding meal and taking a shower are great ways to unwind after a session.
It is not uncommon to feel tired or even to experience what is known as a herxheimer reaction after Kambo, especially after the first time. This happens as toxins are released from the body. I find the best way to mitigate this is to rest, stay hydrated, eat a clean diet, avoid drugs and alcohol for at least a few days and give yourself the mental space to process the experience. After this initial feeling passes, many report feeling energized, clear, focused and a positive shift in energy. I will check in with you after your session and will be available for any questions that may arise.
The process of healing doesn’t start and end during the session. Pay attention to your dreams and any messages that may come through before and afterwards. Pay attention to any signals your body may be sending you. Tune into your appetite and cravings. Allow yourself time, space and support to deal with anything that may come up. Chronic and deeply-rooted ailments may take some time and multiple modalities to work through.
For the points: you won’t need to do anything special to care for them. Dragon’s blood will be applied at the end of your session and it will form a protective scab over the points and allow them to heal. If they start to itch during the healing process, you can apply calendula salve or aloe vera to address the itchiness. It’s also best to avoid tight clothing over the points that could irritate them. The scabs will naturally fall off after a week or two.
I will provide a list of questions to contemplate in the day and week following your session to assist with your personal integration.
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One of the uses of Kambo is receiving it prior to sitting with Ayahuasca. Kambo helps cleanse the digestive system, potentially allowing better absorption of Ayahuasca. Additionally, there are two peptides (phyllomedusin and phyllokinin) within the Kambo secretion that "may increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, thus facilitating access to the brain not only of themselves but also of other active peptides." (Vittorio Erspamer, pharmacologist and neuroscientist). This also allows for a potentially more potent and clear experience with Ayahuasca.
Kambo may safely be taken in the days prior to Ayahuasca. I advise allowing at least one day between Kambo and Ayahuasca to allow the medicines to do their work separately and to avoid potential electrolyte disturbances.
How is Kambo collected?
When done ethically, with reverence and respect for the frog, the process of collecting the Kambo secretion is a beautiful and potent one.
The information shared here is from my first-hand experience collecting medicine with several different individuals and groups in the Peruvian Amazon. Of course, others may have had different experiences or witnessed different things. I believe it’s imperative to witness and participate in this process as a practitioner in order to fully understand the amount of energy that goes into collecting the secretion and what a truly precious resource it is. I think it's also important to be able to say with confidence that you know where your medicine comes from and that to the best of your knowledge, it is being collected ethically and with respect to the frogs and collectors.
The Kambo frogs are nocturnal, so the process begins with going deep into the jungle late at night to locate a frog. The frogs typically live high up in the trees. A call is sung out and the frogs hear and return the call. It is then up to someone to retrieve the frog, a process that can require climbing 30 feet or more up a tree. The frog is presented with a branch or hand to climb on to. The frog is handled carefully, as to not induce stress, and taken down the tree and to a place where the collection can occur.
There are different ways of collecting the medicine. What is most common is for the frog to be tied, extending its arms and legs, exposing the back of its body. It is then tapped, prodded or the toes squeezed to induce stress (there are more extreme measures that can be taken to induce stress - it is important to know where your medicine is coming from and how the frogs are treated). The frog begins to secrete a gooey, milky white or opaque substance from its back and legs and the secretion is collected with something like a small piece of wood. It is then either used fresh (quite the experience!) or it is put onto a flat piece of wood, or “stick” to allow it to dry. This allows it to be stored to be used later, or to be taken outside of the jungle with a near-indefinite shelf-life.
What constitutes ethical collection?
How is the frog treated?
The frog is handled and treated gently and the medicine collected quickly. Being tied up is likely not a very comfortable experience for the frog, but it doesn’t seem to cause them any pain. Ideally the frog is not tied up for more than 10-15 minutes and is released back into the jungle, no worse for wear.
How much of the secretion is collected?
Ethical collection entails not taking all of the frogs secretion, as it still needs some to protect itself from pathogens and potential predators in its environment. The speed at which the frog is able to reproduce the secretion depends on its age. A young frog will reproduce enough of the secretion for its own use (not for collection) in about a week. But for an older frog, the process will be slower. In general, frogs will have enough secretion to be collected again between a minimum of 2 months and up to 8 months. Milking a frog to collect every last drop of secretion leaves the frog without any of the secretion for its own use. The secretion also becomes less potent if it is extracted until the frog has none left, as the first secretion is the strongest. Less potent secretion = needing to use more to achieve the desired result. Overall, it is a bad practice that can be harmful to the frogs and lead to diluted secretion being used.
How often the frogs are collected from?
When frogs get over-harvested from, they get stressed and their immunity can be compromised - in addition to not having enough of the secretion for their own use. Ideally, there are at least a few months in between collection from any particular frog. This gives the frog ample time to reproduce enough of the secretion for its own use and also to spare for collection. The frogs are left with marks on their wrists after being tied up for collection, so ideally they aren't being collected from again while those marks are still visible.
Are the people collecting the medicine being fairly compensated?
It takes A LOT of time and energy to collect this medicine. Oftentimes, the process requires spending hours in the hot, humid, buggy jungle in the middle of the night with no guarantee of finding a frog or finding a frog that has secretion to give. It is important that the people doing this are fairly paid for their work.
There are places outside of the jungle that Kambo sticks can be purchased from street vendors or even online retailers for very inexpensive prices. These prices do not reflect the amount of work that goes into collecting it and there is no way of knowing how the medicine was collected, how the frogs were treated etc. With these sticks, I generally assume there are some unethical practices at play. It doesn’t make sense that good quality Kambo, collected properly with patience and respect, would cost so little. Another issue is that sticks are being sold with the secretion being cut with yucca or egg white. This leads to less potent medicine, meaning recipients need more of it to achieve the desired result, and potential allergic reactions from unknowing recipients.
Please, ask questions from your practitioner about where they get their medicine. Do they know where it comes from? Do they have a relationship with the people who collect it? Have they participated in the collection? Do they pay a fair price for it? Do they buy it from an unknown retailer online?
The sustainability of this practice and access to high quality Kambo depends upon those serving and receiving the medicine insisting upon ethical practices.
A deeper dive into peptides
Peptides are short-chain amino acids that occur naturally in the human body and abundantly in nature. Peptides act as cellular messengers and Kambo peptides exhibit potent antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, vascular, anti-cancerous and hormonal effects.
27 different analogues of peptides in 8 different families have been identified from the Phyllomedusa bicolor frog.
While we have a basic understanding of the main peptides found in Kambo, there are likely undiscovered peptides, and undiscovered benefits of the known peptides.
The 8 peptide families currently known to be found in Kambo are:
Dermorphins
High potency for opioid receptors (40+ x stronger than morphine)
Effects: reduced pain, catatonia, nausea, vomiting, euphoria.
Deltorphins
High affinity for opioid receptors.
Shows gastroprotective effects
Effects: reduced pain, catatonia, nausea, vomiting, euphoria, heat-flushing.
Phyllocaerulein
Prompts gastric juice secretion, gall bladder contraction and pancreatic secretion
Drops blood pressure
Produces effects of analgesia, changes in mood, sedation, satiety and antipsychotic effects
Effects: lowered blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, bile secretion, bowel movement, presence of fainting.
Sauvagine
Causes drop in blood pressure
Interacts with the HPA-axis and stress response
Effects: lowered blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, bile secretion, bowel movement, presence of fainting, antidiuresis, reduced pain, reduced emotional reactivity, increased sense of social connection, reduced appetite.
Phyllomedusin
Increases vasodilation
Causes drop in blood pressure
Causes smooth muscle contraction in the stomach
Activates tears and mucus secretion from the nose and eyes
May temporarily alter the permeability of the blood brain barrier
Effects: increased heart rate, heat flushing, red color or skin.
Phyllokinin
Increases vasodilation
Causes drop in blood pressure
Appears to promote typical inflammatory responses such as vasodilation, redness, allergic responses, heat edema, hyperthermia and pain.
Offers potential clinical benefits such as improved sensitivity to insulin, hypotensive effects, anti-eschemic effects and potent antithrombogenic, antiproliferative and antifibrogenic effects
Activates tears and mucus secretion from the nose and eyes
May temporarily alter the permeability of the blood brain barrier
Effects: increased heart rate, heat flushing, red color of skin, increased absorption of peptides at burn site, irritation around burns.
Litorins
Bombesin-like peptides
Occur in trace amounts
Bombesin-related mammalian peptides appear to influence stimulation of smooth muscle contraction in the GI/urogenital tract, gut motility and GI peristalsis, potent effects on immune cells, stimulation of secretion and hormone release including insulin in gastric, pancreatic, colon, and endocrine organs, potent growth effects on normal and neoplastic tissues, and potent CNS effects including regulating circadian rhythm thermoregulation, anxiety, satiety and behavior
Short term decrease in body temperature in rats
Effects: nausea, vomiting, bowel movement, shivering, reduced appetite, anti-addictive properties.
Dermaseptins
Broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides
Exhibits effects against bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and protozoa
Destroys bacteria by binding to cell membranes and causing collapse and decimation
Low cytotoxicity to animal cells
Reaches bacteria in biofilm
Anti-cancerous effects
Effects: anti-microbial effects against bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and other pathogens.
”These bioactive peptides interact with our innate biological systems in ways that may be similar to endogenous (native to our bodies) peptides that are structurally related. Contrary to popular belief, the biological response of Kambo is not caused by a toxic or immune response. The physiological effects of Kambo’s peptides are dierectly related to how the peptides interact with the cardiovascular, neurological and gastrointestinal systems. Vomiting and diarrhea are not adverse effects, the are indeed, THE effects. There is little to no evidence that Kambo’s peptides are toxic to human organs or cells.”
-Caitlin Thompson, neuroscientist and Kambo researcher
For more information about the research done on the peptides found in Kambo, click here.
The rates for Kambo sessions are:
Single sessions:
Private 1:1 session: $300
Group of 2: $250 per person
Group of 3 or more: $200 per person
Series of 3 - recommended when trying to accomplish a goal and for longer lasting results:
Third session will be discounted. Simply pay the deposit when booking and the remaining amount owed on the day of the third ceremony (if any) will be discounted.
Private 1:1 session: $750
Group of 2: $600 per person
Group of 3 or more: $525 per person
Micro-dose (single dot/non-purgative) sessions:
Private 1:1: $200
Group of 2: $135 per person
Group of 3 or more: $100 per person
Please send me a message if you would like to arrange a group micro-dose session.
If the cost is a challenge for you, please reach out to me to discuss, or consider joining a group ceremony which offers a discounted rate.
“I’m pleased to share about my Kambo experience with River. She explains all the benefits and answers any concerns prior to the treatment, and as you are going through it with her at your side. I enjoy sharing this experience with River, as she really ‘knows her stuff’ and is so pleasant and calm as she encourages one through the process.
I would recommend everyone who is cleared after answering some health history questions to experience Kambo. The benefits are enormous and life changing, and that truly is not an exaggeration.
I have had Chronic Lyme disease since 2003. Living with that constantly had been very difficult many, many times and for long periods at a time. I’ve utilized Western, Eastern & homeopathic providers. All qualified; yet none were able to progress to where Lyme was under control and it remained there. Kambo has been successful with my Lyme AND it has changed my life. I am active again and no longer utilize a single step with one foot, then the other foot before progressing on the stairs. That may sound small (but is not); but, it certainly is a small part of the benefits Kambo provides. There are so many and varied benefits that are different for each person. It feels wonderful to know I have Kambo available a phone call away; knowing once again, my life activities and the way I feel will change overnight and all in a very positive manner. Kambo has provided me with my ‘new normal’, and I’m loving every moment. I am so very thankful to have been introduced to Kambo. I personally try to have Kambo once every 4 to 6 weeks. You as well, may enjoy wonderful improvements and changes to your health - contact River and be introduced fully to ‘magical’ Kambo.”
-Jo H.