He is a practicing Cuarandero and a Recovery Consultant at Sacred Rebels Recovery, a peer-led addiction recovery program for men housed at the Nihue Rao Spiritual Center in the Peruvian Amazon.
In our conversation, Sapha highlights the uniqueness of Sacred Rebels in providing alternative recovery options for people who feel unsupported by standard recovery programs.
We also discuss the importance of learning about plant medicine practices from indigenous practitioners and addiction recovery from those who experience it.
Sapha takes us on a journey, telling us how he went from working in Canada's oil and gas industry and living with addiction to how an LSD experience drastically changed his life perspective, influencing him to seek treatment and eventually find his way to psychedelics.
He also spent two years studying Social Work at Vancouver Island University while organizing harm reduction efforts before moving to the Amazon to train as a traditional curandero in the Shipibo tradition under his teacher Maestro Ricardo Amaringo. Sapha highlights the value of formal university education and lived experience with addiction, recovery, and traditional training in his work.
Finally, we finish our discussion with a look data Sapha’s concerns and vision for the future of the psychedelic field, including making psychedelic treatment ethical, affordable, and accessible.
Time Stamps:
(5:06) Sacred Rebels - a peer-led addiction recovery program for men in the Amazon teaching about ayahuasca in the Shipibo tradition
(12:51) Sacred Rebels success rate so far
(25:11) Where does the Sacred Rebels name come from and the importance of paying respect to indigenous cultures and practices in plant medicine and psychedelics
(35:37) How Sacred Rebels is working to make the recovery program accessible to people who might not otherwise have access to it
(40:07) The partnership between Sacred Rebels and Nihue Rao - a community-based relationship of reciprocity
(49:54) How others can become involved in Sacred Rebels, people in recovery, or other indigenous healing and practices
(58:09) Sapha’s journey from addiction to recovery and the value of obtaining knowledge through lived experience
(1:26:00) Studying Social Work at Vancouver Island University - going back to school, exploring psychedelic topics in the classroom, and supportive mentors
(1:37:41) The future of the psychedelic field and psychedelic addiction treatment - striving for ethics, affordability, and accessibility
(1:44:06) Final advice - seek community and mentorship in the space you want to work in
1:53:51