THE STORY
SO FAR
300 km east of Cusco, in the heart of the Tambopata Nature Reserve, Sipapu comprises 160 acres of primary and secondary rainforest.
The Rio Tambopatá is a fast-flowing river originating in Bolivia. It joins the Rio Madre de Dios at Puerto Maldonado.
The Tambopata National Reserve is an area of 1000 square miles protected since September 2000 by decree of former president Alberto Fujimori.
Sipapu lies in the Tambopata Buffer zone (Zona de Amortiguamento) on the stretch of river known as La Torre.
While it is less than 20km from Puerto Maldonado as the crow flies, the average boat journey upriver takes 3–4 hours.
Sipapu can only be reached by boat, which has its advantages and disadvantages. Road access in the Amazon tends to be a mixed blessing.
Re-discovered by Robin van Loon of Camiño Verde, Sipapu the sanctuary was founded by Oscar Miro-Quesada.
When a series of storms levelled the forest on an area of higher ground, Oscar named it the Campo Ceremonial. This is where we will build the Temple of Emergence.
One enters Sipapu through a natural gateway of trees and flowering shrubs, and is immediately struck by the tranquility of the place.
The eyes marvel at the great trees of the primary forest, and the ears are treated to peels of melodic birdsong.
Watch this short video (9 min) made by Oscar Miro-Quesada.
We’re making friends! Check out this 1 min video we put together from camera trap footage in June 2020.
With thanks to Darwin Solano @ Inotawa for the cameras.
A selenium heart set in the ceremonial field during our first group visit, April 2018.
Twenty-two friends, most of them from Ayni Foundation’s Natural Wisdom Leaders programme, got together to purchase Sipapu in 2017.
We visited in April 2018 (right) and performed ceremonies to honour the land, its previous guardians, and all its residents, human, animal, seen and unseen.
THE SIPAPU
SIPAPU is a Hopi Indian word meaning ‘place of emergence and return’. It is the sacred navel through which their ancestors first emerged into the world, and to which they will one day return.
The hopi celebrate their creation mythology via the kiva, a sacred fire pit. The sipapu is a smaller hole in the kiva, representing the navel.
Sipapu is a response to the call of the Amazon and its peoples to conserve Nature, wisdom and tradition during a time of great change on the planet.
Three-phase plan for a sustainable and regenerative community in the Amazon, focussed on the Temple of Emergence.
Meet the core team, advisers and partners making things happen locally, bioregionally, and worldwide.
Sipapu’s ceremonial field, where the Temple will be constructed.
© THE SIPAPU CO WEB DESIGN BY SOLUNA
ALL EFFORT FOR MOTHER EARTH