WHO:

The class is open to students of The Five Colleges in Western, MA. Students from schools outside The Five College system can take the course through Continuing Education. Students need permission to enroll (for more info, contact Nathaniel Putnam nputnam@hampshire.edu)

WHAT:

The Shaman's Pharmacy (PLSOILIN 398 Practicum) is a 3-credit course and field trip, taught and led by UMass Explorer in Residence Chris Kilham to study medicinal plants the Amazon. Chris is an internationally recognized ethnobotanist and medicine hunter with over 30 years of field experience.

The course is being sponsored by the UMass Medicinal Plant Program, the UMass Department of Plant, Soil, & Insect Sciences, and the UMass International Programs Office.

WHEN: IMPORTANT DATES

• (Highly Recommended) Informational Meeting: September 13th, 2012, 6:00PM, UMass, Stockbridge124. Student must sign-up for Interviews at this meeting so please bring calendar.
• Interviews and all application information in by September 30th, 2012 ( APPLY HERE!)
• Admission Decisions: Monday, October 3rd
• Deposit Due: $1800 due by October 2nd, 2012
• Class Fees Due in Full: Approximately $4000 no later than October 14th, 2012
• Tentative Dates: January 5 through 20, 2012 (Depending also on flight availability)
• Post-Amazon Wrap-up Session: TBA
• Paper Due: TBA

WHERE:

THE PERUVIAN AMAZON!

• Lima, Peru
• Iquitos, Peru
• The Great Amazon River
• The Napo River
• Explorama Eco Lodge
• ExplorNapo Eco Lodge
• Rainforest Canopy Walkway
• Dr. James Duke's ReNuPeru Ethnobotanical Garden
• Primary Rainforest (Jungle)
• Native Village
• Medicinal Plant Market

The major portion of time in Amazonia is held at ExplorNapo, a lodge and learning facility set in primary rainforest along the Rio Napo in Peru. Facilities during time in Amazonia included excellent food, basic but good sleeping facilities, showers and sanitary facilities. ExplorNapo has beautiful grounds, direct access to the Sucusari River, and a large open pavilion for classes. The ExplorNapo facilities include capable and experienced Amazon guides, boats for venturing deeper up rivers and into the forest, a medicinal plant garden developed by botanist Dr. James Duke, and easy access to the Canopy Walkway operated by Amazon Center for Tropical Studies.

EXPENSES:

The cost will be approximately $3,500, including food, lodging, airfare (from Newark, NJ), and transportation. Cost is variables, and depends in part on current airfare and gas pricing. (See Funding Tips, below).

Informational Meeting:

A highly recommended informational meeting will be held at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Tuesday, September 13th, at 6:00PM, Stockbridge124. This is an important class to attend. Please try to be there if you are serious about coming with us to the Amazon.

CONTACT:

Nathaniel Putnam, Program Coordinator and Special Assistant Shaman's Pharmacy 2012 (nputnam@hampshire.edu)

STUDENT CHECK-LIST:

1. Informational Meeting (September 13th, 2012, 6:00PM, UMass, Stockbridge124)
2. Application: (COMING SOON)
3. Current Passport: Visit Passport Application for information.
4. Immunizations: Visit Umass Travel Clinic for information. U-Mass Appointment Desk 413-577-5101 - ask to see Pat May 413-577-5101
5. Packing List: (COMING SOON)
6. Emergency Contacts: (COMING SOON)

FUNDING TIPS:

This class is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When seeking funding, make sure to walk potential patrons through our Greatest Media Hits page, so they can better understand who is leading this class. Also, we are happy to answer further questions. More thoughts on associated costs:

1. $3500 is the average cost of a 3 credit class at Umass
2. Can be thought of as saving $20 a day for 6 months
3. Half of which is the cost of airfare, roundtrip to Peru
4. Is around what Americans spend on entertainment in a year
5. Is more than half the annual salary of professional nurse in Peru

Funding Sources at 5 Colleges:

1. Smith College: Visit International Experience Grant for information.
2. Mount Holyoke: Student Financial Services
3. Hampshire: Financial Aid Office
4. Amherst College: Contact Janna Behrens for information.

EXPEDITION HIGHLIGHTS:

We can't promise, but we try to fit in all of these great local experiences:

• Canopy walks in lush primary rainforest
• Hands on, participatory plant medicine demonstration on how to make Ayahuasca^*
• Native spiritual ceremony with Shipibo Shaman
• Demonstration of temporary black plant tattoo and red plant dye
• Boat rides on the Great Amazon river, the Sucusari river, and explorations into tributaries (a stream or river which flows into a main stem or parent river)
• Day hike to see Giant Water Lilies
• Boat ride to see wild Pink Dolphins, sacred to the Amazonian people (yes, they are really pink)
• Piranha Fishing(!)
• Handling wild snakes and tarantulas
• Playing with local (tamed) wildlife, including adorable belly-rub loving, finger-sucking Capybaras
• Amazonian Grub Tasting (raw and cooked)
• Drinking from "Water Vine" in the jungle
• Harvesting "Hearts-of-Palm" jungle demonstration
• Wildlife-seeking boat rides at night to experience the rushing river under a deep black sky canopy of huge, incredibly brilliant stars
• Rides in “motocaros” through local towns and villages - a classic traveler's experience in this part of the world
• All hands around a majestic Ceiba Tree, a giant of the Amazon. The Ceiba Tree is one of the tallest in the rain forest, and considered the "Tree of Life" for many native Amazonian tribes
• Night walk to spot wild tarantulas, waiting for prey in natural habitat
• Meal at “Ari’s Burgers” a “Shaman Road” classic hang-out for ex-pats, Ayahausca Shaman and adventurers from around the world
• Visit to “Dawn on the Amazon,” otherwise known as the “Amazon Explorer’s Club”

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK:

“2012 The Shaman’s Pharmacy (Amazon Field Immersion Course)”

“The Shaman’s Pharmacy showed me it is possible to create a global economy where all parties thrive. I now understand how medicinal plant trade can empower native people to live well and coexistence with the land they steward.” – Rachel Carlevale, Student, The Shaman’s Pharmacy 2010

“The Shaman's Pharmacy was an epic adventure(!) and one of the most profound learning experiences of my life. Meeting the Amazon Jungle is a rare opportunity few enjoy: meeting the Amazon Jungle via Chris Kilham and Peruvian Shamans was life-changing.” – Tim West, Student, Shaman’s Pharmacy 2010

“The preservation of one tradition will speak to all traditions – whether it is the jewelry and clothing made by the women on the river, sold on the banks to tourists, or the folk songs that are older than any living man, passed down from ear to ear, or the medicinal knowledge of the shamans, all are part of a network of lost arts. Any effort to save one is sure to make a difference to all, and it is all tied into the welfare of the rainforest.” – Elly Vaughan, Student, The Shaman's Pharmacy 2010

“The Shaman’s Pharmacy was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There is no way I could have ever gained the knowledge I did other than by going on a trip like this one. It takes seeing these things in person to truly understand them. Experiencing the rainforest and its bountiful biodiversity is not only staggering but deeply inspiring as well.” - Sam Billings, Student, The Shaman's Pharmacy 2010

“I think we all get so caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of our own lives that we forget to stop and appreciate the beauty of all the nature around us. I think the biggest impact the Amazon had on me was to make me take time and slow down. In the morning I would listen to the birds and insects, notice plants and wildflowers all around me. If we don’t take time to appreciate nature, how do we know to save it?” - Emily Howard, Student, The Shaman's Pharmacy 2010