Note: The following testimony comes form T. a person who spent almost a year working with Ayahuasca International (aka Inner Mastery) and went though a number of cycles in the European Ayahuasca School. We encourage others to share their own testimonies by contacting us at conoci.a.varela@hushmail.com

THE EUROPEAN AYAHUASCA SCHOOL

The email I received with an invitation from Alberto Varela decía "PRIVATE ENCOUNTER OF THE AYAHUASCA INTERNACIONAL TEAM" he loves to write thinsg using caps. I wan't a part of said team, but that's how he loves to communicate, everything they say is a contradiction and it is through these contradicitons that they manipulate people. The only one who also has the truth is Alberto Varela. The rest, constantly confused by the constant contradicitions, are never sure of what to say or what to do. From a psychological point of view it's a fascinating process to witness. One either joins the group blindly accepting everything Varela says o one has to leave.

The name itself is a contradiction, what is taught is not ayahuasca, but a marketing strategy, how to use deceptive communication in social networks, to capture people who are genuinely interested in using ayahuasca and to convert them first into customers and second into distributors for Ayahuasca International.

They elaborated a curriculum for the school that -in my case- was never followed. It was all a constant improvisation y they taught that was funny as hell. I didn't learn anything good in the Ayahuasca School. The only positive aspect was that I met some people that, like me, were on a personal search, people that became my friends and to thsi day remain my friends.

In the various times that I went to the [facilitators'] school, I never learned and was taught nothing about the use of ayahuasca. As they didn't drink ayahuasca, they saw no need to learn anything about it. What they taught was how to manipulate human groups....

In one of the formation cycles I volunteered to help with teh organization. That's where I began to see the group from the inside, the essence of what they do. Their main objective is the sale of ayahuasca (or whatever, selling is what is important) If there is a positive effect for the client is of secondary importance (and is used to make publicity)   What they really teach in the Ayahuasca School were only two things: number one was to sell, number two was to create others who will sell, new distributors of Varela's ayahuasca in other cities.

It's all about preparing people who will help Ayahuasca International (aka Inner Mastery) expand worldwide though ayahuasca distribution, within a pyramidal scheme, based on a chain of commissions, with Alberto Varela sitting on top of the pyramid, selling the ayahuasca to everyone and getting paid a commission for everything, while at the same time claiming (most likely advised by his lawyers) that he doesn't charge or ask for money, that's all donations.

H. explained to me that he received a percentage of all the sales that happened on "his" country as well as the group that speak his language, as he was to one to set up the group. H. himself explained to me how they bough 7000 likes in Facebook and how they bough Facebook's ayahuasca page (which belonged to somebody else and already had hundreds of thousands of likes).

They used this new platform to launch all their marketing campaigns, spending large amounts of money every month on Facebook publicity (Facebook ads, event boosting) in order to capture thousands of people who -in good faith- are looking for info on ayahuasca.

European School Session. Source: Ayahuasca International

CULT-LIKE STRUCTURE

Once you are in the circle of Ayahuasca International they begin to try to bring you inside, they promise you jungle trips, meetings with indigenous friends of theirs, and a salary of 2000 euros per month if you will become a distributor.

SEPARATION OF MEMBERS FROM THEIR FAMILIES

They told me constantly that I must separate from my wife and begin "a new path." They told me that being with them was that new path. I have never shown any intention of divorcing my wife, whom I love deeply, and their insistence made me laugh.

But I met people who did divorce and later paired up with members of the group, leaving themselves very exposed. They also gave much money to Alberto Varela, as "loans" or "investments" in the business. The result was that they were without work, without their partner, and without savings, leaving themselves totally exposed at the mercy of Varela. From this point, leaving Ayahuasca International becomes very difficult.

TAKING MONEY FROM MEMBERS

Another person who confessed -in front of a large group of us- her desire to leave Ayahausca International was L. But she'd already invested 20000 euros in the Hotel in Mocoa, Colombia, and leaving the group would mean losing the money. She's caught up in trouble much larger than herself, and being twenty thousand in the hole, she'd not coming out. I still worry for her, because she was weak, I fera they will drage her down with them, and I am sorry for her. 

There are many people working with Ayahuasca International right now who now all this I am telling you. They want to leave as well, but they are trapped.

It's incredible this organization is not persecuted by the law

AYAHUASCA SESSIONS WITHOUT ADEQUATE SUPERVISION

I sincerely hope that other people will follow my example and have the strength to talk about their experiences, in order to prevent others and stop this from ending up with someone dead or killing themselves. In their ayahuasca sessions, there is no one who can help a person who enters into a profound process.

I saw this with my own eyes on two occasions. When I saw two people enter into very difficult processes, the supposed "professionals" of Ayahuasca International didn't know what to do. The people were left completely adrift. I wasn't participating that night, but afterward I spoke with these people, who were totally traumatized. Afterwards when I commented to the team that it seemed dangerous, and what would happen to the people who had left the house in this state of confusion, they shrugged their shoulders and replied,

"Once they leave, it's their problem."



¿DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL?

If you have been with Ayahuasca international and you want to anonymously share your story (no hearsay, only first-hand experiences, please) please contact us by writing to conoci.a.varela@hushmail.com

The publication of the letter from Cofán authorities, denouncing Alberto Varela and his organization Ayahuasca International / Inner Mastery was followed by a letter of support signed by the world's top 100 ayahuasca experts and academics, which was published in one of Colombia's most prestigious newspapers.

Varela answered the letter by deflecting attention. "A small part of the scientific community" he said, had attacked him "out of envy and resentment". 

In fact 100 people is not a minority of the reduced world of ayahuasca studies. Among the signatories of the letter are la crème de la crème of ayahuasca researchers. Varela likes to say "all publicity is good publicity" he must be happy to know minds of the category of  Michael Taussig (Columbia Univ) Stephen Hugh Jones (Cambridge Univ) y Jean Jackson (MIT), scientists like Charles Grob and Michael Winkelman, as well as the top Colombian academics such as Carlos A. Uribe y Juan Alvaro Echeverri know of Varela's existence and categorically disaprove of his practices, and the practices of his organizations Ayahuasca International and Inner Mastery.







The Letter

• Mr. Varela’s organization markets Yajé ceremonies by fraudulently alluding to supposed permission or approval from the indigenous Yajé-using authorities of Colombia;
• His organization has turned the Yajé medicine into a lucrative business, posing a serious threat to the health and life of those who participate in these ceremonies.

• This business model employs aggressive marketing techniques, including significant investments in advertising and social media, with the goal of turning Yajé into a commodity of mass consumption, generating artificial demand for this medicine and taking advantage of the ignorance and vulnerability of many people;
  
  
• In an irresponsible effort to expand the business, facilitators are given superficial courses through the “European Ayahuasca School,” such that people with minimal experience and training can conduct Yajé ceremonies;
  
  
• In a likewise irresponsible manner, this medicine is advertised and sold directly over the Internet through the company “Ayahuasca Planet” to anyone, without any control;
  
  
• As a result of this improper, disrespectful, and irresponsible use of the Yajé medicine, a growing number of people have described reprehensible practices, contrary to the principles laid out in the ethics codes and best-practice guidelines proposed by diverse organizations working to defend appropriate uses of Ayahuasca.

We hereby manifest our support for the representatives of the Cofán people who signed a public denunciation against Mr. Alberto José Varela and his commercial activities involving Yajé. 

The undersigned manifest our concern over the proliferation, in Colombia and many other countries, of a business model in which Yajé (also known as Ayahuasca) is used solely in the interest of making a profit; disrespecting the plant, its proper management, and the sacred character bestowed upon it by native peoples and mestizo populations of Southeastern Colombia.

The activities of Mr. Alberto José Varela are especially worrisome because he claims to have been “initiated” in 2001 by Taita Domingo Males Miticanoy, calling himself “the first Westerner authorized to use the ayahuasca of Taita Querubín in Europe,”  and referring to his organization, Ayahuasca International as “the first multinational corporation dedicated to Ayahuasca.”


In 2007, Mr. Varela founded the Putumayo Association for the Assistance of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon, which he uses to organize trips from Spain to the Dept. of Putumayo, Colombia, and through which he collects money with the supposed aim of giving economic aid to indigenous peoples of southern Colombia and providing “needy communities with materials such as clothes, shoes, toys, and books.” The Putumayo Association also seeks to purchase land in the Colombian rainforest to allegedly collaborate with indigenous peoples in restoring it by “planting traditional crops and elaborating shamanic medicines which are the basis of their medical culture and their means of sustenance.” By 2008 the Putumayo Association had purchased five hectares of land in the Colombian Amazon.

Mr. Varela was arrested in Spain in December of 2008, after a police investigation initiated by complaints filed by family members of participants and neighbors over the disorderly conduct generated by the Yajé ceremonies he conducted. After fourteen months in prison, he was absolved in April 2011 of any crime against the public health because, as noted in the court’s sentence, it was not possible to quantify the DMT content of the Yajé confiscated by police. According to news reports, 40 kg of Yajé were found at his home.

In 2013, Mr. Varela resumed the same kind of Yajé activities he had carried out prior to his imprisonment, now using aggressive marketing strategies and investing significant amounts of money in advertising and social media.

In order to legitimize his activities, he named various Taitas who were supposedly part of his organization, including Víctor Queta, Taita Querubín Queta, Taita Juan Jamioy, Taita Alfonso Males Jamioy, Taita Juan Males Jamioy, Taita Biron Piajuaje and Taita Humberto. 

• We express our support for the Cofán people and their authorities, and we denounce Mr. Alberto José Varela for improper and fraudulent use of the name and traditions of Colombian native peoples, especially the Cofán, to legitimize his business activities;

• We denounce the use of aggressive marketing tactics and social networks to publicize and commercialize Yajé ceremonies, and condemn the direct sale of this medicine over the internet to anyone without any controls whatsoever;

• We denounce the irresponsible use Mr. Varela makes of the Yajé medicine, employing people without the necessary experience and training to conduct Yajé ceremonies; moreover, we note that these facilitators do not consume the medicine during ceremonies, contrary to the manner in which Ayahuasca is used in diverse contexts around the world;

• While some people might benefit from the use of the Yajé medicine in sessions organized by Ayahuasca International, we warn prospective clients that participating in sessions run by this organization could result in grave risks to mental and physical well-being;

• In this context, we note that a growing number of witnesses who have participated in Yajé sessions organized by Ayahuasca International have reported reprehensible practices, contrary to the principles enumerated in various ethics codes and guides to best practice, such as those developed by Brazilian Ayahuasca religious groups, ICEERS, and PDA;

• We denounce the commercialization of Yajé as if it were an ordinary product or service, generating an artificial demand based on crass manipulation of what it means to consume the Yajé medicine, and taking advantage of the ignorance, credulity, good faith, and vulnerability of many people;

We the undersigned are not opposed to the expansion and spread of Yajé usage per se. Instead, we affirm that the diffusion of these practices should always be based on knowledge, respect, and ethics. The activities of Mr. Albert José Varela represent a danger not only to those who take part in his organization’s ceremonies, but also more generally to the expansion and consolidation of these practices beyond their region of origin.


SIGNED BY (100):

ALHENA CAICEDO-FERNÁNDEZ
Profesora Asistente
Departamento de Antropología
Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

CARLOS ALBERTO URIBE
Profesor de Antropología
Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

JOAQUIN CARRIZOSA PhD
School of Anthropology and Conservation
University of Kent, U.K.

JUAN ÁLVARO ECHEVERRI
Profesor titular
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, sede Amazonia, Colombia

MARGARITA CHAVES
Investigadora
Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia, ICANH, Colombia

SALIMA CURE
Antropóloga
Coordinadora Museo Etnográfico del Banco de la República
Leticia, Colombia

JORGE RONDEROS VALDERRAMA
Presidente Corporación Prodiversitas Colombia
Profesor Titular Departamento de Antropología y Sociología
Director Grupo linea de investigación y revista Cultura y Droga
Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia

FRANCO EUGENIO JIMENEZ ACOSTA
Medico Cirujano especialista en Medicina Biológica
Biorigen – Arte de la Medicina Integrativa Personalizada
Yachay Investigaciones de Medicina Ancestral Americana, Colombia

MAITE YIE GARZON
Profesora Asistente
Departamento Antropología
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

JULIO ARIAS VANEGAS
PhD (c) Antropología
The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, U.S.A.

LEONARDO RODRIGUEZ (PhD)
Experto en Pueblos Indígenas – Colombia
Representante ante la ONU de Maloca Internacional (MAIN), Colombia

MICHAEL TAUSSIG
Professor
Columbia University
New York, U.S.A.

BIA LABATE
PhD Antropologia Unicamp
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

CHARLES S. GROB, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
UCLA School of Medicine
U.S.A.

JESSE HUDSON
Juris Doctor, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans
Masters of Science in International Development, Payson Program, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans
Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, U.S.A.

BRIAN T. ANDERSON, MD, MSc
Resident Physician
Department of Psychiatry
University of California San Francisco, U.S.A.

GILLIAN WATT
Masters, Social and Political Sciences, Cambridge, UK
Masters, Department of Study of Religions, University College Cork, Ireland

JEAN E. JACKSON
Professor of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.A.

CHRISTIAN FRENOPOULO
Professor substituto
Universidade Federal do Acre, Brasil

MICHAEL WINKELMAN, M.P.H., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Retired
School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Arizona State University, U.S.A.

MARTIN TERRY, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology
Department of Biology, Geology, and Physical Sciences
Sul Ross State University
Alpine, Texas, U.S.A.

MARCELO S. MERCANTE
Programa de Pós Graduação em Saúde Coletiva
Unisinos, Brasil

STEPHEN HUGH-JONES, PhD
Emeritus Research Associate
Department of Social Anthropology
University of Cambridge, U.K.

PEDRO MUSALEM NAZAR, PhD (c) Antropologia
Máster Salud Pública
Instituto Brasil Plural, UFSC – Brasil

GLAUBER LOURES DE ASSIS
Doutorando em Sociologia
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

JOSE ELIEZER MIKOSZ
Artista Interartes (Arte e Estados Não Ordinários de Consciência)
Professor Adjunto da UNESPAR/EMBAP
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

AFRÂNIO PATROCÍNIO DE ANDRADE
Doutor em Ciências da Religião e doutor em Direito.
Pós-doutor em Teologia pela Escola Superior de Teologia, bolsista da CAPES/PNPG, Brasil

DIEGO RODOLFO VIEGAS
Profesor Titular de las cátedras “Etnografía del Conocimiento” y “Antropología de la Conciencia”
Escuela de Antropología. Facultad de Humanidades y Artes
Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina

MATIAS MENDEZ
Master(c) en Psicología Clínica de Adultos
Profesor de Psicología
Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago de Chile

DAN ROSENGREN
Associate Professor
School of Global Studies
University of Gothenburg, Sweden

HENRIQUE RESSEL
Mestre em Antropologia
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

BRUNO RAMOS GOMES
Psicólogo, Mestre em Saúde Pública pela Faculdade de Saúde Pública-USP
Coordenador Centro de Convivência É de Lei – Redução de Danos, SP – Brasil

JOSÉ ARTURO COSTA ESCOBAR
Dr em Psicologia Cognitiva
Pós-doutorando no Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Vice-líder do Grupo de Estudos sobre Alcool e outras Drogas/UFPE
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

PATRICIA PAULA LIMA
Doutoranda em Etnomusicologia – INET-MD
Universidade de Aveiro – Portugal
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

ALBERTO GROISMAN, PhD
Professor do Departamento de Antropologia UFSC
Coordenador do Grupo de Ativismo Espistemológico-UFSC, Brasil

PEDRO FERNANDES LEITE DA LUZ
Antropólogo e Etnobotânico.
​Professor na UNIASSELVI, Brasil

ISIDRO MARÍN GUTIÉRREZ
Ph.D. en Antropología Social por la Universidad de Granada
Docente Investigador del Departamento de Comunicación
Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), Ecuador

SANDRA LUCIA GOULART
Brasileira, Antropóloga, Doutora em Ciências Sociais pela Unicamp
Professora da Faculdade Cásper Líbero (São Paulo)
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

WALTER MOURE
Doctor en Psicología Clínica, Universidad de São Paulo, Brasil.
Investigador en Filosofia Intercultural de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Investigador en Psicología Clínica de la Universidad de São Paulo, Brasil

WAGNER LINS LIRA
Antropólogo, Mestre e doutorando em Antropologia pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – UFPE
Membro do Grupo de Estudos sobre Álcool e outras Drogas (GEAD-UFPE) e do Núcleo de Estudos das Religiosidades Populares (NERP-UFPE), Brasil

PATRICIA PAULA LIMA
Doutoranda em Etnomusicologia – INET-MD
Universidade de Aveiro – Portugal
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

ROBIN M WRIGHT, Ph.D.
Religion & Anthropology, Indigenous Studies, Latin American Studies
American Indian & Indigenous Studies Program Coordinator
University of Florida Gainesville, U.S.A.

JUAN GONZALEZ, PhD
Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, México

Dr. PILAR M VALENZUELA
Associate Professor
Department of World Languages & Cultures
Chapman University (California), U.S.A.

SIDARTA RIBEIRO, Ph.D.
Professor de Neurociências
Instituto do Cérebro
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

Profa. MARIA DE LOURDES DA SILVA
Faculdade de Educação
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

SANDRO EDUARDO RODRIGUES
Doutor em Psicologia pela UFF
Professor da Universidade Ceuma-MA
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

ISABEL SANTANA DE ROSE
Pesquisadora em nível de pós doutorado (bolsista do CNPq)
Programa de Pós Graduação em Antropologia / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil

FELIPE SILVA ARAUJO
Antropólogo e Linguista
GERTS/UFS, Brasil

JONATHAN D. HILL
Professor of Anthropology, SIUC
Coordinator, Latin@ and Latin American Studies minor
President, Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America (SALSA)
Visiting Professor, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania

GABOR MATE, M.D.
Author and speaker
Canada

DANIELA PELUSO
Anthropologist (Amazonian specialist)
University of Kent, U.K.

EGLEE L. ZENT
Lab Ecologia Humana
IVIC, Venezuela

G. WILLIAM BARNARD
Professor of Religious Studies
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, U.S.A.

MAURO WILLIAM BARBOSA DE ALMEIDA (Ph.D. Cantab, 1993)
Professor – Colaborador
Universidade Estadual de Campinas (State University of Campinas), São Paulo, Brasil

ANJA LOIZAGA-VELDER
Investigadora Postdoctoral
Posgrado en Ciencias Medicas y de la Salud
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México

BERND BRABEC DE MORI
Senior Scientist
Instituto de Etnomusicología
Universidad de Música y Artes Dramáticas Graz, Austria

KATHLEEN HARRISON, M.A.
Ethnobotanist
Botanical Dimensions
Occidental, California, U.S.A.

CLANCY CAVNAR, PsyD
Psychologist at Healthright360
Walden House Residential Drug Treatment
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

Dr. BRIAN RUSH
Professor
Depts. of Psychiatry‎ and Public Health Sciences
University of Toronto, Canada

TANIA GONZALEZ RIVADENEIRA
Maestrante
Estudios Mesoamericanos
UNAM, México

KENNETH TUPPER
Adjunct Professor
School of Population and Public Health
University of British Columbia, Canada

Dr. HUGO LAVAZZA
Antropólogo.
Sección de Etnología y Etnografía – Instituto de Ciencias Antropológicas
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras – UBA
INMeT – Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical. Puerto Iguazú. Misiones, Argentina

JUAN SCURO
Doctorando en Antropología Social
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

ANNE MARIE LOSONCZY
Antropóloga
Directora de estudios, EPHE, Paris, Francia

ELI ODA SHEINER
McGill University
Research Assistant
Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry
Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Canada

Prof. Dr. MARÍA SUSANA CIPOLLETTI (en retiro)
Departamento de Antropología de las Américas
Universidad de Bonn, Alemania

MARIA CLARA REBEL ARAÚJO
Doutora em psicologia social
Coordenadora do curso de Psicologia- Universidade Estácio de Sá, Campus Friburgo, Brasil

WALTER DIAS Jr.
Mestre em Antropologia – PUC-SP
Professor Adjunto I – UNIP/ SJC – SP – Brasil

CHRISTINE L. HOLMAN, PhD
Justice and Social Inquiry
School of Social Transformation
Arizona State University, U.S.A.

RALPH METZNER, Ph.D.
Psychologist, author,
Professor Emeritus, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, U.S.A.

JONATAS C.DE CARVALHO
Mestre em História (UERJ)
Pesquisador em Extensão No País – CNPq
Projeto Espaço Darwin – Fazenda Campos Novos – Cabo Frio, Brasil

NEAL M. GOLDSMITH, Ph.D.
Psychotherapist and author, Psychedelic Healing
Licensed Mental Health Counselor, U.S.A.

ERIC MICHAEL KELLEY
Lecturer
Department of Anthropology
UMass Boston, U.S.A.

PABLO ORNELAS ROSA
Doutor em Ciências Sociais PUC/SP
Professor nos Programas de Mestrado em Sociologia Política e em Segurança Pública
Coordenador do Grupo em Pesquisa Poder, Subjetividade e Resistências
Universidade Vila Velha – UVV, Brasil

ALEX K. GEARIN
University of Queensland
PhD Candidate, Anthropology
Australia

CLARA NOVAES
PhD Psicologia, Psiquiatria Transcultural, Sorbonne, Paris
Membro da Associaçao Internacional de Etnopsicanalise
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP), Brasil

STEVE McDONALD
Association Secretary
Psychedelic Research in Science & Medicine
Australia

CHARLOTTE WALSH, LLB (Hons), MPhil
Lecturer in Law, School of Law, University of Leicester, U.K.

GERALD THOMAS, PhD
Collaborating Scientist
Centre for Addictions Research of BC
University of Victoria, Canada

JEAN-PIERRE CHAUMEIL
Directeur de Recherche émérite au CNRS
Laboratoire d’Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative, France

JUSTIN PANNECK, PhD
Associate Professor
Colorado Technical University, U.S.A.

CELINA M. DE LEON
School of Public Health, MPH (cand)
U.C. Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

DRAULIO BARROS DE ARAUJO
Professor at the Brain Institute (UFRN), Brasil

JOSHUA HOMAN
PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas
Research Associate, Museo Regional, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Peru

PHILIPPE LUCAS
Research Affiliate – Centre for Addictions Research of BC, Canada

IVAN SERGIO FELONIUK
Abogado, investigador y magister en Bioetica
Miembro del equipo organizador del Foro Social Mundial
Presidente de Prodiversitas, Brasil

SEBASTIEN BAUD (PhD)
Research Associate
Institut of Ethnology, University of Neuchâtel (UniNE), Switzerland
French Institute for Andean Studies (IFEA), Lima, Peru

ISMAEL APUD
Docente Asistente
Facultad de Psicología
Universidad de la República, Uruguay

DAVID NICKLES
Researcher & Moderator
DMT-Nexus, U.S.A.

EDUARDO GASTELUMENDI
President
Peru Psychoanalytic Society, Peru

HEINER DÖRFLER
Medical Doctor
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
University of Zurich, Switzerland

MATTHEW CONRAD
PhD Candidate, Anthropology
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

JAN WEINHOLD
Ph.D., Heidelberg University
Germany

ANA ELDA MAQUEDA
Departamento de Farmacología Clínica
Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, España

EVGENIA FOTIOU
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Kent State University, Kent, OH, U.S.A.

SANTIAGO LÓPEZ-PAVILLARD
Antropólogo, candidato a doctor
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España

MARCELO CAMURÇA
Antropólogo, docente e pesquisador no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Religião
Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora- Minas Gerais, Brasil

ALEJANDRO CAMINO D.C.
Director
Museo de Plantas Sagradas, Mágicas y Medicinales
Cusco, Perú

DANNY NEMU
Psychedelic Press, U.K.

MANUEL ALMENDRO, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Member of European Federation of Psychology Associations. EFPA
European Certificate in Psychology and Psychotherapy- EuroPsy
Director of Oxigeme, Center for a Psychology of Consciousness, España

¿DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL?

This is the letter that started it all: Ayahuasca International (AI) spent years showing two letters of permission signed by Cofán indigenous authorities.  AI claimed the letters gave them permission to work work with ayahuasca.  Recently the same indigenous authorities wrote a new letter (below) claiming those two letters were forgeries and denying Varela and his organization Ayahuasca International, had not received Cofán permission to work with ayahuasca.

The scandal made it to radio, TV, and Colombiás main newspapers and blogs, and concluded with a follow up letter of support signed by a 100 of the top ayahuasca academics and researchers.

As usual Alberto Varela reacted by deflecting attention.  He claimed the indgineous shamans were trying to blackmail him, he claimed the indians wanted to keep ayahuasca for themselves.  But this is not the question. What Varela needs to explain is whether or not the indigenous authorization to serve ayahuasca has any value to him and to Ayahuasca International.

If is is legitimate. What are they going to do now they they no longer have that permission?

And if for AI the indigenous authorization has no value, why did they spend 7 years showing everybody their permission letters as a source of legitimacy for their work?




Ver fuente del video


Representatives of the Cofán people have just published a statement about Alberto Varela and his organization: “Ayahuasca International.”

For a number of years Varela had claimed to be the recipient of an authorization by the highest traditional authority of the Cofán people: Taita Querubín Queta Alvarado.

The 4 page long text exposes how the private organization Ayahuasca International has illegitimately used the name of the Cofán taitas (shamans) from Colombia in order to gain credibility for their ayahuasca business activities, as shown in the following excerpt:

“Mister Alberto José Varela has NEVER been given any instructions or training in the knowledge of the Sacred Medicine of Yage, neither has he EVER been authorised to carry it or use it in his international tours. This makes what is said in his alleged “authorisation” ABSOLUTELY FALSE.”

Click here and download the original file in Spanish
Click here to download the translation to english done by a certified legal translator

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Translation of the letter:



The undersigned governor of the indigenous reservation Ukumari Kankhe, in use of his legal faculties given and protected by the article 7 of the Colombian Political Constitution.

Public communication about Mr Alberto José Varela, the organization “Ayahuasca International” of which he is president and the alleged “authorization” he claims to have received from the highest traditional authority of the Cofán people Querubín Queta Alvarado and the Cofán Indigenous Reservation Ukumari Kankhe.

1. Mr Alberto José Varela, Argentinian national with passport No 13925297, has founded a lucrative enterprise with which he carries out international tours around European cities, offering the Yagé cure in a devious way claiming a supposed authorisation or endorsement by the yagé indigenous authorities in Colombia. He also takes foreigners on excursions to the city of Mocoa in Putumayo.
2. The organization called AYAHUASCA INTERNATIONAL, legally known as Inner Mastery International S.L., organizes gatherings to offer the yagé cure, charging plenty to it’s participants and thus establishing a lucrative business which contradicts and breaks the principles and values of the Cofán people endangering their traditions and uses of the Ancestral Medicine of Yagé as well as the lives and health of those who attend such events.
3. In order to portray his enterprise as legitimate, Mr Alberto José Varela publicly shows a supposed authorization granted by the Mayor Taita Querubín Queta Alvarado and the Cofán Indigenous Reservation Ukumari Kankhe in which he is authorised to carry and use the traditional medicine Yagé during his tours with the above mentioned organization. This document also allegedly certifies the “Instruction and training” he supposedly received in the use of our Ancestral Medicine.
4. Mr Alberto José Varela publicly claims to invest financially in benefit of the Cofán community in order to preserve the culture and tradition. Therefore the Cofán community declares the absolute falsehood of the supposed contributions mentioned by Mr Varela.
5. Given this concerning situation we, as indigenous authorities of the Cofán people (A’l), publicly express ourselves in order to defend our Ancestral Tradition, the responsible use of our Traditional Medicine, the authority of our Taitas and Elders and the safekeeping of our people. Also we wish to protect the lives and health of those people who put themselves at serious risk when being induced by people who lack the recognition of our traditional authorities and instruction in the ways of our traditional medicine, resorting to fraudulent and dishonest acts like those of Mr Alberto José Varela. This person deserves to be investigated by the local authorities in each country where he misrepresents and replaces our authority and the good name of the indigenous ancestral medicine for his own benefit and his lucrative business instead of serving the common good like we have done for millennia. He is thus acting in prejudice of our immaterial patrimony and so going against international treatises which protect the indigenous and tribal people, their customs and traditions as well as trespassing the international recognition we have as guardians of Yagé, understanding it as nucleus and bastion of our indigenous traditional medicine.Invoking the law of Origin and Own Right of the Cofán (A’l) People, the Life Plan and Safeguarding Plan of the Cofán (A’l) People, protected by the Law 21 from 1991 (Agreement 169 of the OIT) and the Decree 004 of the Constitutional Court from January 2009, as well as the wisdom of the Taitas and Elders that guides our people we declare that:

1. In the tradition and customs of the Cofán (A’l) People, NONE of the people who are part of AYAHUSACA INTERNATIONAL HAVE BEEN TAUGHT, TRAINED OR INSTRUCTED BY US in the uses and practices of the Yagé cure. Given the fact that this is a science of much responsibility and care we keep the teaching within our community and directed only by our Traditional Authorities.Mr Alberto José Varela was never given any training in the knowledge and use of this Sacred Medicine and was NEVER authorized to carry it or use it in his international tours. What is said in the supposed authorization is ABSOLUTELY FALSE.
2. The people who arrive to the Cofián community from outside to take the Yagé cure are given the remedy in order to cure various illnesses but they are NEVER instructed on how to give the Remedy under any circumstances, and we never teach to do so in the conditions and with the format of the EUROPEAN AYAHUASCA SCHOOL founded by ALBERTO JOSE VARELA which he promotes through AYAHUASCA INTERNATIONAL.
3. The COFAN INDIGENOUS RESERVATION UKUMARI KANKHE absolutely doesn’t know Mr Alberto José Varela or the members and facilitators of the organization AYAHUASCA INTERNATIONAL because they have NEVER been within our territory and they have NEVER received any instruction from our community or the Taita Mayor Querubín Queta Alvarado.
4. The signature that Mr Alberto José Albarado managed to get can be dismissed as absolutely false as he obtained it using fraudulent procedures and TAITA MAYOR QUERUBIN QUETA ALAVARADO affirms he never issued any authorisation for the above mentioned individual or his organization to administer the Yagé Remedy in their international tours, and even less so to provide home delivery of doses through AYAHUASCA PLANET.
5. Our Elders and Taitas DO NOT authorise anyone outside the Cofán community to offer or carry the Yagé remedy.
6. Yagé ceremonies are absolutely sacred for our people and we perform them with a very demanding level of responsibility because our interest is to take care for the complete health and the life of our patients. This is why we declare that the organization AYAHUASCA INTERNATIONAL and its founder ALBERTO JOSE VARELA are absolute impostors and do not know the science of Yagé or have been instructed in our customs and practices from the Cofán Tradition.
7. To the people who attend their meetings as patients and other people who may wish to take part in the Yagé ceremonies we urgently advise that the Yageé Remedy and the Ancestral Tradition are exclusive of indigenous people, guardians of those traditions. Therefore resorting to organizations outside the indigenous people is an irresponsibility and puts the lives and health of those assisting at risk.
8. Mr Alberto José Varela and his company Inner Matery S.L. Have never made any kind of investment or donation toward the Cofán community. Quite the opposite, they attack our tradition and culture by promoting a use of this Sacred Remedy that is improper, disrespectful and irresponsible.
9. Therefore we encourage the national and international communities to ignore and disbelieve anything published in websites and social networks of AYAHUASCA INTERNATIONAL or by ALBERTO JOSE VARELA, for they are impostors who do not know and haven’t been instructed in the traditional practices of the Yagé Remedy. Whoever attends the meetings of the mentioned organization does so at their own risk and they are at serious risk.
10. The Cofán (A’l) people, Highest Taita Querubín Queta Alvarado, the Indigenous Reservation Cofán Ukumari Kankhe and it’s Governor José Lorenzo Morales, DECREE the absolute FALSEHOOD, of the supposed “authorisation” obtained by Mr Alberto José Varela.
11. Neither the Cofán (A’l) people nor our Taitas will be responsible for any illness, damage or decease of any person as result of the bad practice of these irresponsible people.
12. This reservation will initiate the procedures, legal, penal and of responsibility against this man who has usurped the name of our Taita Querubin Queta Alvarado and we request the governments of the world to NOT authorise these practices from this company and by Mr Alberto José Varela as well as their supposed facilitators.

Let this be published and spread.
Yours Sincerely,
Signed by:

Any queries please please phone (57) 3122620569

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