The Importance of Ethnobotany: In recent centuries, industrialized cultures have relentlessly exploited and assimilated the indigenous cultures of the world. This has led to an unfathomable loss of our collective human heritage. In the last century the dynamic science of ethnobotany has emerged as a powerful force for the preservation and revitalization of indigenous cultures through the study of their essential relationship with the plant kingdom. Ethnobotany also holds tremendous importance for the future of industrialized cultures, not only in the “new” medicines it continues to “discover” but in recovering the aboriginal paradigm of deep interrelationship with the natural world that is integral for the preservation of the earth’s biosystems and the survival of the human race.

We are dedicated to the preservation and evolution of human relations with the natural world. We aim to educate and empower individuals with the basics of hands-on ethnobotany, sustainable development, cross cultural shamanism and the knowledge of the underlying intimacy of humanity’s botanical heritage. We believe such knowledge has tremendous potential to catalyze environmental conservation, social change and integrate the schisms of the modern psyche.

Ben Kamm, Neil Logan, and Matt Magee lead adventurous and educational excursions to the diverse ecosystems of the central and southern Andes of Peru and northern Bolivia. With a multidisciplinary focus on ethnobotany, ecological conservation, traditional agriculture, and indigenous Andean spirituality, these trips offer a unique and transformative immersion in the Andean world.

Our next journey is scheduled for late April 2010. A limited number of spaces are still available for you to join us.

We invite you to view our gallery of images from previous expeditions

Links:

Integrated Living Systems Design, LLC

Botanical Preservation Corps.

Peruvian Shamanism