Snakes&Roses
About me
Hi, I'm Min.
I used to sit in meetings at Google. Today I live in the jungle of Putumayo, prepare yagé with the family of Taita Miguel, and walk to the waterfall in the morning.
If you're tired of the life you built and you're not sure what comes next, I know that feeling well. This is the story of how I got here, and why I'd love to show you this place.
I · The life before
A good career, and an empty tank.
I was a designer in Silicon Valley, with a creative job at Google, working on products that millions of people used every day. It was the life I thought I wanted, and from the outside it looked perfect.
Inside I was burned out, and something deeper was missing. The city, the screens, the pace of corporate life. I kept going, because that's what you do, until I couldn't ignore the quiet voice anymore that said: this is not all there is.
II · The calling
The jungle kept calling me back.
I went to the jungle for the first time because I felt a calling. I wanted a real break, and I wanted to get to know myself better.
I fell in love. With the forest, the people, the medicine. For years after that I spent every holiday in the jungle. While my colleagues flew to the beach, I flew to Putumayo.
III · The leap
I left the safe path.
The medicine asked everything of me. One day I decided to stop visiting and start living. I left my career behind and moved to the jungle to become an apprentice of plant medicine with the taitas, with all the depth and discipline that asks for.
I learned Spanish. I learned how the families here live, how the medicine is grown, harvested and prepared, and how carefully and ethically the work is done. I studied for years before I ever thought of guiding anyone.
IV · Today
The bridge between two worlds.
Since then I have sat with hundreds of people in ceremony. Now I facilitate retreats together with Taita Miguel Mavisoy and his family, and with Taita Leonardo Jacanamejoy. I'm a shaman-in-training, which means I'm still learning too.
I think of myself as the bridge. I know the world you come from because I lived it, and I know the world of the taitas because I'm learning it every day. I guide the whole experience: I prepare you before you arrive, I help hold and protect the space in ceremony alongside the other guides, I help orient you when things get big, and I walk with you as you bring it all home.
Different roles, shared care
The taitas lead the ceremonies. I guide your journey.
Taita Miguel and Taita Leonardo carry the ceremonial knowledge of their Kamëntšá tradition and lead the medicine work.
I facilitate your whole retreat. I prepare you before you arrive, I'm with you at every step as a guardian of the space, I guide and translate you through ceremony, and I hold the space together with the taita. After the retreat, I stay with you as your integration mentor, for as long as you need to bring it all home.
Your guide in the jungle
You don't have to go through this alone.
Working with the medicine can turn your inner world upside down. That's exactly why I'm there: to guide you into ceremony and back out of it, in a space we hold with care.
I know what it feels like to arrive here as a stranger from the city. I speak your language and the language of the taitas, and I'll stay close to you from our first call until long after you're home.
Before
A free discovery call, with no pressure. Then a month of weekly 1:1 calls to prepare: your diet, your medications, your intention, what to pack, and whatever feels big right now.
During
I'm one of the guardians of the space, along with the other guides. I help protect it, orient you through ceremony, translate between you and your taita, and stay close in the quiet hours in between.
After
A month of 1:1 integration and mentorship, so the experience can land in your body and become part of your everyday life.
What moves me
Bringing back the feminine.
In the corporate world I learned to be fast, efficient and always available. What I lost on the way was something softer: listening, receiving, trusting my body, moving with the rhythm of the day instead of against it.
For me, the feminine is very simple. It is coming back into connection with the earth, with Mother Earth, who holds us and feeds us every day. Here in the jungle you feel her everywhere.
Why people come to me
I live here, and you're welcome in my home.
I live here
I'm not someone who flies in once a year. The jungle is my home, and you are welcomed into it like family.
Indigenous-held ceremonies
Ceremonies are led by Taita Miguel or Taita Leonardo in their own tradition, on indigenous land. I work with the families, not as a retreat center built around them.
Why I stay
Fresh food, wild water, and stories of the forest.
I moved here for the simple things. Food that grows outside the door. Waterfalls to swim in before breakfast. Evenings with the family, listening to stories about the plants. And the work with the medicine, which still teaches me something new every time.
Snakes & Roses
The snake for the medicine and the forest. The rose for the heart and the beauty of this place.
I named this project Snakes & Roses because the jungle holds both. It can be wild and challenging, and it is full of softness, colour and care. A retreat here is not always easy, but it is held with a lot of love.
If something in this story sounds familiar, write to me. We can talk about a group retreat, or about a private retreat just for you or for you and your friends.
Min
Guests' words
Min's work is about caring for the culture, the land and the medicine, and you feel it in every moment.
Franziska · voice therapist, Germany
I highly suggest reaching out to Min. You'll be in great hands and supported throughout the journey.
Esthela H. · sound therapist, Mexico