Kambo is a protective secretion from a vibrant green frog that lives in the Amazon Rainforest (basin area) in Brazil and Peru. Kambo holds several names: Acaté (secretion) and Datoé (frog) by Matsés tribe located in Peru and Brazil, Kambo by tribes located in Brazil, Sapo in spanish, Giant Waxy Monkey tree frog in english, and Phyllomedusa Bicolor in latin.

At night, the frogs can be found climbing similar to monkeys (hence the name) in the top of trees emitting sound in harmony together to know each other's location and for mating.

Their secretion, which acts as their protection, has been harvested by indigenous tribes for holistic health. To apply, the top layer of skin is quickly burned. The secretion is then placed and is able to enter our lymphatic system, later the cardiovascular system.

Traditionally, men and women serve each other Kambo (men to men & women to women) to strengthen and cleanse the body, mind, and spirit. After the medicine is served the person goes into nature alone to move through the process. Adults and children may practice this periodically to retain good physical health or when feeling physically unwell, in preparation for hunting or other activities that require prolonged energy, mental clarity, cleansing of panema (bad spirits) which has been explained similarly to energetic clearing and to feelings of depression and anxiety which is viewed as laziness, and in preparation of pregnancy or fertility difficulties.

These indigenous practices with kambo directly coincide with more recent scientific research that has found the secretion to be antimicrobial, anti inflammatory, antidepressant, analgesic, strength enhancing, stress relieving, and supportive of vital cellular processes.

Kambo is continually researched and at this point there have been 16 bioactive peptides identified in the secretion: Adenoregulin,  bombesin,  bombesin-nonapeptide,  bradykinin, caerulein, deltorphin, dermaseptin, neurokinin B, phyllomedusin, phyllocaerulein, phyllokinin,  phyllolitorin,  preprotachykinin  B,  ranatachykinin  A, sauvagine, T-kinin and urechis tachykinin.

Each of these peptides has a different function and very logically correlates to the possible holistic changes in the body and to the symptoms that may be experienced during a kambo session including: heat waves and facial flushing, chills, increased heart rate, nausea, blood pressure changes, sweating, abdominal discomfort, a need to purge (vomit and/or defecate).

The first time I was served Kambo was in the year 2000. It has been part of a journey of big shifts physically, emotionally, and energetically in my life. Since then, I have been served kambo in various settings, including the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and Peru a number of times. There I received this medicine from people in the Yawanawa, Kashinawa, and Matsés tribes. It is important to me to know and honor the indigenous cultures and traditions where plant and animal medicines originate, and it has been moving to hear directly, the same sharing repeated multiple times -  a strong wish that these ways are not lost, that the medicines bring health and transformation to our world, and gratitude that there are those that desire to learn this medicine and tradition, be stewards of it, and carry it forth.

Gaining education and tools that support the difference in environments and cultures these medicines are now being served in is important to me as well. A portion of this was fulfilled by spending 21 days in the Amazon jungle in Peru where I engaged in a kambo dieta and training learning a weaving of tradition, science, and safety. While in dieta, I served myself kambo and as each session passed I felt profound physical changes and connectivity while awake and asleep. I then had the experience of serving others. The medicine I carry with me and I serve, comes from a Matsés man named Robinson who was present during this time. I have walked with him as he calls out to the frogs in song and collects their secretions. I am confident that he holds reverence, gratitude, and care for the frogs, is interested in protecting them, and harvests from them ethically.

Outside of the Amazon Rainforest, there are a variety of ways people serve kambo. I am on the traditional end when it comes to where I place the secretion on the body and in regards to “planning” of sessions. Except for certain cases, I do not recommend any specific number of sessions or timing they should happen in. I believe the most healing and accurate way to work with this medicine or any other, is to connect to an intention rather than an expectation, meet and fully consent to merge with it, listen, and notice the shifts that happen holistically. After the first session we can decide what is needed from there on.

Microdosing, a full session, alone, or in combination with other plants or modalities are all paths that can be taken. 

And on the non traditional side of serving this medicine, I stand on solid ground inviting the gifts of spirit and science. I bring with me many years of experience and education of navigating through complex states of being. This merges with the medicine woman that I am and consent to be. My authentic presence in a kambo session is no different than any other space I am in - I remain centered and attune to your pace and body's responses in a way that can allow you to feel how held you are by the medicine, by my presence, by your surroundings, and how empowered and held you can be by the depth, vulnerability and courage that is within you. 

Safe practices and authentic reverence to this medicine, the frogs, indigenous people and culture, is crucial in order to preserve it and allow those who will benefit from it, to continue to receive it. I am dedicated to this. When you schedule a call I will provide more in depth information, a detailed intake form, and a screening for known risks and contradictions of Kambo. Based on this information I will advise if we can meet. During a session I will take all safety precautions known to me and i will give guidance accordingly. In addition to my kambo training which included safety measures and practice of them, I have taken Caitlin Thompson’s Medicine Frog Kambo Safety course, I am part of a network of kambo practitioners where I receive mentorship and support, and am First Aid & CPR certified. Taking all of this into consideration, the responsibility of knowing if this is the right moment and path for you is then ultimately yours. Learn the potential benefits and risks, listen in, and if it is, I would be honored to be with you.

1. Contact me to request a session

2. You will receive an intake/info packet to fill out and return to me. 

3. After reviewing the packet I will let you know if we can schedule a session. 

4. You will receive a packet with info on how to prepare before and after a session.

5. We have a video call 

6. We meet for a session.

7. We check in + optional extended integration process (call or in person).

Experience serving Kambo:

I am confident in my ability to serve kambo, and I am new to it. So if being with a practitioner that has held many sessions holds importance to you, we may not be a good fit at this time.

Financial reciprocity:

30% of the cost of your session will be given in reciprocity to the Matsés community.  I have a personal connection and trust that funds will directly reach the community and support their daily lives. 

In order to ensure the safety, humane treatment, preservation of the frogs and tradition, an indigenous person that is connected to this tradition should be performing this process. Unfortunately this is not the case these days and why it is very important to know where the secretion your practitioner is serving comes from. I am sharing this process here as I witnessed it and learned.

Traditionally, the person collecting the secretions goes out at night and calls to the frogs in sound and song. The frogs reply revealing their location high up in the trees. As the song continues some of the frogs come a bit closer and the person climbs to get closer to them reaching out with a stick towards them which they typically crawl onto. Later, the frogs legs are each attached with pieces of string created from bark of trees to four sticks that are placed in the earth. They are attached just strong enough to hold them there. The person then strokes either side of the frog with a stick releasing the secretion. They watch carefully to know the level of pressure and when the moment to stop is. The secretion is then spread upon bamboo sticks and dried for future use. 

Although we cannot truly know what the exact experience of the frogs are during this process, I can say that in witnessing this, the frogs do not appear to be in extreme distress. They remain calm when gathered and throughout the process. Before and after, they do not quickly move away. They remain in place and even rest calmly in the palm of the person's hand or or move around on their body while staying closely around them for an extended amount of time. Tying of the legs leaves markings on the frog for several months. An indigenous person who cares for the frogs and this tradition will not collect secretion from a frog that they find and has these markings. If found, this is a sign to leave them be.

In conversation with Robinson the Matsés man I witnessed in this process, a question arose on if it is possible to use another material or to tie even looser in case this is painful for the frogs. He replied that perhaps, but then there would not be this marking which brings awareness that secretion has been collected from the frog. I was also curious if the collection of the secretion then leaves the frogs defenseless to predators and was told that if that was the case the frog population would not be flourishing as it is and they would not continually find frogs with different levels of markings on their legs months later. The assumption then is that the secretion renews rapidly enough for their protection.

Kambo is not regulated in most countries. This means that it is not legal or illegal or in other words - everything which is not forbidden is allowed. 

An example: in the United States, Kambo falls under similar laws as dietary supplements or other unapproved interventions. This legal framework implies that there are no grounds for legal prosecution related to the use, possession, or distribution of Kambo.

Kambo's status allows for its use, but it is subject to strict regulations regarding health claims. Language that suggests diagnosing, treating, curing, or preventing any disease is forbidden without FDA approval. 

Some exceptions:

In Brazil only indigenous people have been allowed by law to serve Kambo since 2004. This legislation was enacted to safeguard the native origins of the ritual and to prevent biopiracy.

In the UK It is classified under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. Although it is not illegal, the classification is controversial since Kambo is not psychoactive. 

In Australia the practice and possession of Kambo has been illegal since 2021 following a tragic event where a woman died in 2019

All information is based on research that I have done myself and am sharing here. Any info shared is by no means an official resource

Research on the topic of Kambo is ongoing and readily available online. Remember to check the source of the information you find. Who is the author and where is it published or posted. Find information from trusted sources - Scientific and academic Journals for quantitative and qualitative scientific research and for more in depth learning about the culture, background, and specific practice from humans who areindigenous to this culture or stewards to it.

I will continually add more research and resources here

This article can be downloaded and gives a good overview and some scientific explanations.

This article gives an overview of researched peptides

This is a list of Kambo research articles