The Shipibo world.
The Shipibo-Konibo are artists, onanyabo — healers, teachers, farmers, fishermen, and river people whose communities have lived along the waterways of the Peruvian Amazon for generations. Their language, songs, stories, plant knowledge, and intricate kené designs form a living cultural world far larger than ayahuasca.
Most people arrive looking for one thing — the plants · the dietas · ayahuasca · the art · the cosmos. But every path into the Shipibo world begins with language.
We teach Shipibo-Konibo as it is actually spoken.
Our lessons are created and taught by fluent Shipibo speakers, with audio, conversation, and the words you need to enter the culture with greater understanding.
Between 26,000 and 35,000 people speak Shipibo-Konibo, across roughly 140 communities. UNESCO's Atlas lists it as definitely endangered — not for lack of speakers, but because it is no longer the norm for children to learn it at home. Every recording on this site was made by a living speaker, this year.
One world.
Six ways in.
Language, art, medicine, journeys, the archive, and community work. Begin wherever your curiosity leads you.
The Shipibo School
Learn Shipibo-Konibo from fluent native speakers, through interactive lessons and living examples of the language. The first module is free.
Start learning →Shipibo Art House
Kené is more than decoration — painted, woven, embroidered, sung, and carried through generations. Meet the artists and buy from the makers.
Enter the Art House →Medicine Worlds
Ayahuasca, master plants, dietas, and healing songs — explained with cultural context rather than retreat mythology.
Explore the plants →Journeys
Travel with people who know the communities, rivers, artists, teachers, and healers personally. Custom journeys and carefully reviewed retreats.
Plan a journey →The Living Archive
Words, oral histories, songs, myths, biographies, and recorded voices — a growing archive you can search, study, and return to.
Enter the archive →The Community Garden
Documentation, cultural training, community projects, and paid work for the people contributing their knowledge here.
See the work →Going to Peru?
Talk to us before you go.
A retreat, a dieta, a language immersion, an art commission, a research trip, or a film production — tell us what is bringing you to the Amazon. Our team can help design the journey, connect you with people we know personally, arrange logistics, and make sure local collaborators are paid fairly.
No anonymous retreat listings. No surprise fees. No pretending every experience is legitimate.
A living culture should not be reduced to a ceremony, a pattern, or a product.
This project exists to document and share Shipibo-Konibo language, art, medicine, memory, and contemporary life — while giving credit, authority, and material benefit to the people carrying that knowledge.
What your support actually pays for.
The Community Garden Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3). Buying the course and supporting the foundation fund the same things:
- Recording equipment in the hands of Shipibo speakers
- Transcription and translation, paid rather than volunteered
- A permanent copy of every recording for the community it came from
- Escuela Uno, the art school we built in the Peruvian Amazon
- A named share of every course sale returning to the Ucayali
Prepare before you arrive.
Get the free preparation kit:
- Ten Shipibo-Konibo phrases with audio
- The first chapter of our dieta guide
- A direct checklist for evaluating retreats and facilitators