About Matses
The Matsés are an indigenous people deeply rooted in the Amazon rainforest. They are traditionally located in the remote border region between northeast Peru and western Brazil.
Today, the Matsés population numbers approximately more than 3,000 individuals, with the vast majority living on the Peruvian side of the border, spread across many different villages and communities, and speaking the Matses language.
The Matsés are one of the few tribes that traditionally use Kambô, or as they call it in their language, Acaté.
In their culture, Kambô is applied from a young age to remove laziness, purify the body, increase energy and alertness, sharpen the senses, and enhance physical endurance, especially before hunting expeditions.
Since the very beginning of our training programs, it has been essential for us to bring participants closer to the authentic Matsés culture by experiencing directly from them how they locate the frogs, extract the medicine, apply it in ceremony, and learn about their culture and traditional way of life.
Over the years we have worked closely with members of the Matsés tribe. Unfortunately, the Matsés community isn’t just one group of people living all together but is rather spread among different families and smaller communities. We have worked with the Reyna family as well as with the Uaqui family and other dedicated individuals.
Our mission is to help them sell their Kambô sticks and medicines at fair prices something that has become very difficult over the years as many individuals who are not Matsés are also extracting the medicine, and many online shops and resellers are buying high quantities at low prices, looking only at their own profit and completely ignoring sustainability or the impact it has on the Matsés community.
We are deeply honored to collaborate in this ethical and transparent way, and we invite anyone who shares our care to buy medicine directly from the tribe and support them this way.