Invitation: Second International Huachuma Conference, Peru 2027

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In this issue:

• Save the Date for the Second International Huachuma Conference, happening in the Valley of Pyramids of Túcume on January 29-31, 2027

• About the venue: Museo Túcume

• Pre- and Post-Conference activities

• Recapping the 2025 Huachuma Conference + free access to the presentation videos

This January 29-31, 2027, we will once again meet in the Museo Túcume for three days of dialogue, presentations, and round table talks about Huachuma in its ancestral and contemporary native contexts.

Huachuma Collective is thrilled to bring together distinguished Maestros Curanderos from Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia to celebrate, elevate, and deepen their shared cultural practices and discuss their priorities for the continuation of Huachuma’s tradition. Key academic experts and governmental figures will also be present to share dialogue and perspectives, as will the leaders of cultural associations.

We welcome national and international attendees, Maestros Curanderos, Indigenous peoples from other traditions, herbalists, professors, students, lawmakers, gardeners, and anyone interested in supporting ancestral knowledge and practices to survive and thrive. You can expect:

• Presentations from Maestros Curanderos and key Peruvian and international experts

• Round table discussions of Maestros Curanderos

• Historic photographic exhibition “Maestros” by Heinz Plenge, one of Peru’s foremost photographers

• Dances, music, and traditional arts

• Demonstrations of Curanderismo Norteño adjacent to the conference

• Excursions to local sacred sites and museums associated with the Moche culture

For English-speaking international attendees traveling to Peru for the conference, there will be English translation of the presentations.

The conference will not be livestreamed online; however, the presentation videos will be made publicly available on YouTube after the conference ends.

The conference will again be hosted at the Túcume Eco-Museum, an intimate and unique setting which encompasses 222 hectares of pre-Hispanic ruins and bosque seco ecosystem, 26 adobe pyramids, a Ministry of Culture archeological museum, a gift shop with local art, and a vibrant collaboration with the living local culture. Onsite at the museum is the Ramada Curandera, with ceremonial space used by the local association of Maestros Curanderos for meetings, demonstrations, and teaching youth from the community.

We will be offering a free open house and tours at Huachuma Collective’s garden and seedling nursery in Chaclacayo (an hour outside of Lima) during the weekend prior to the conference. We would love to see you there!

We will also host Huachuma Collective’s principal fundraiser in the days following the conference. This will be a group excursion to the Chaparrí Ecological Reserve (two hours from the conference location) with Huachuma Collective directors, including a traditional Northern Peruvian Huachuma ceremony, viewing of Andean spectacled bears, and hiking. Spaces are limited.

Dates to be announced.

Add your name to the pre-registration list to receive an email as soon as official registration for the conference opens. Spaces for the conference and the post-conference event are limited, so do plan to reserve your ticket early.

Pre-Register Now

The complete presentations from the 2025 International Huachuma Conference are now on Huachuma Collective’s YouTube channel, where you can listen in Spanish or with automatically translated closed captions.

2025 Conference Videos

The 2025 conference was a milestone in Huachuma Collective’s mission to connect and support the traditional medicine practitioners of North Peru. Over four days, there were 10 interdisciplinary presentations, a round table of Maestros Curanderos, and 2 photographic exhibitions featuring portraits of elders – both living and ancestors – as well as a major collective offering, three nights of ceremony, and an homage to Santos Vera, a respected ancestor in Túcume.

This gathering provided the first-ever opportunity for Maestros Curanderos and Indigenous community leaders from all parts of North Peru (plus Bolivia and Ecuador) to gather and share their ideas and concerns with each other, as well as with representatives from the Ministry of Culture; UNESCO; prominent university professors and students, and an international audience via Facebook Live.

Some major takeaways from the conference included:

• Urgent need for conservation of Huachuma, its habitat, and the native herbs used in Curanderismo Norteño

• The rich history of Huachuma in the ancestral cultures of the Andes, which is kept alive today in the traditional knowledge and practices of the Maestros Curanderos of North Peru

• Vital importance of centering the Maestros Curanderos in any discussions about their cultural heritage

• The harm that charlatans, internet shamans, and misinformation are doing to the genuine Maestros Curanderos

• Urgent need for knowledge preservation projects, so that the next generation learns to work with the plant before the elder curanderos pass away

• Importance of Peru’s Cultural Heritage Declaration of the knowledge and traditional uses of the San Pedro Cactus, and next steps

Over the course of the conference weekend, the presenters agreed about which forces are eroding Huachuma’s traditions, and created a foundation for beginning to address these issues on a larger scale.

In 2027, the Maestros Curanderos and their communities will present on biocultural conservation projects that are underway and in development, and dialogue about how to address the growing international interest in Huachuma.

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