Experts in Residence - July 2012
- Connie Grauds, RPh, MNPA - President, Association of Natural Medicine Pharmacists
- don Antonio Montero Pisco - Indigenous Amazon Jungle Shaman
- Mark Wangberg, MFA - Artist, Poet, Creative Writer and Teacher
Your stay at Yarapa River Lodge will be enhanced by these internationally recognized experts in their field who will be in-residence at the Lodge in July 2012. Meet pharmacist and natural medicine expert Connie Grauds, as she explores Amazon medicinal plants with indigenous local Amazon jungle shaman and medicinal plant expert don Antonio Montero Pisco. Don Antonio, one of the last of the Amazon jungle shamans in the area, will also tell tales shamanic rituals that invoke the spirits of the Amazon. Grauds has studied with don Antonio for 18 years in this area of the Amazon basin.
This western medicine-meets-Amazon shamanism in-residence experience is designed to develop healthcare programs and carry out fieldwork in Amazon plant medicine. As Amazon shaman don Antonio works together with medical-insider Grauds, the goals are to make discoveries of novel medicinal plants, to apply indigenous wisdom to modern Amazon conservation initiatives, and to share compelling stories with guests staying at Amazon Yarapa River Lodge.
For the creative spirit in you, meet renowned artist and poet Mark Wangberg. Wangberg has taught art and creative writing in the US for over 30 years, and has also had the opportunity of a lifetime to teach art to students in Nigeria and Ghana. Wangberg will be working with local Yarapa River children to create an innovative art program where he will teach them art techniques using their own local plants and naturally-found objects. The goals of this artist-in-residence program is to allow indigenous children to explore his/her creativity in community, to utilize natural materials in a new way, and to participate in meaningful cultural exchange.