Meet our Kambo Facilitator, Rainbow Dreamer

Dreamer embarked on a transformative Kambo journey in Peru in 2015. Over the subsequent two years of dedicated engagement with Kambo, he confronted serious health challenges arising from a vaccine injury and complications from a botched wisdom tooth removal.

Through a series of intensive treatments, Dreamer successfully transitioned from grappling with the combined burdens of chronic fatigue and daily migraines to accomplishing extraordinary feats, such as running ultramarathons within just a couple of years.

Motivated by an unwavering commitment to the healing potential of Kambo, Dreamer underwent training with the International Association of Kambo Practitioners in 2017. Since then, he has consistently offered ceremonies, drawing on his extensive experience in leading ceremonies dating back to 2009. This journey involved years of devoted practice in various ceremonial forms, all under the direct guidance of esteemed wisdom keepers and elders.

Assisted by his wife, who shares his understanding of ceremonial intricacies, Dreamer is dedicated to creating a supportive and high-integrity environment for those seeking the health benefits of Kambo.

What is Kambo?

Kambo, also known as the Giant Monkey Tree Frog or Phylomedusa bicolor, is an amazonian frog that has been used for thousands of years to heal a broad spectrum of illnesses. Traditionally, tribes people treat infections, snake bites, and malaria with Kambo and also use it for hunting, strength, stamina and removal of ‘panema,’ or bad luck.

Over the last several decades, this amazonian amphibian has become more widely recognized for its incredible healing potential. Pharmaceutical companies are actively studying the frog’s secretion in the hopes of making medical breakthroughs. Anthropologists have been scrambling to document its origins and traditional uses. Practitioners have taken the secretion out of the jungle and into the lives of the mainstream public. The momentum is clear: Kambo is spreading across the globe and we ought to prepare ourselves for its arrival. More information is provided below.

I Have Specific Healing Goals. How Do I Proceed?

Kambo has a way of finding and rooting out the particular imbalances, traumas, and illnesses unique to the individual. After receiving a basic treatment, participants can receive an in depth consultation and receive their points on chakras, meridians, acupuncture points, and auricular (ear) points. You are welcome to ask for a targeted treatment in our group ceremonies as long as you have worked with Kambo in the past. Contact us if you want to set up a private, targeted treatment plan.

What Can I Expect During and After a Session?

Participants will drink two liters of water in the beginning of the session. The water acts as a depository for the toxins that Kambo pulls out and gives you something to purge when the time comes. Kambo enters the body through small burns called ‘gates’ on the surface of the skin. Gates are placed on different areas of the body depending on the type of treatment. The frog secretion is then formed into tiny balls and placed on the gates. The secretion enters the lymphatic system and quickly initiates a series of sensations. The body reacts to the kambo in a variety of ways that can include increased heart rate, swelling in the face, hands, and throat, temperature fluctuations, flushing, pounding sensations in the head, cramping, and nausea. Kambo is NOT psychoactive so does not produce hallucinations, but it can produce a short altered state of reality in some people and many receive insights and messages about living a healthier life. At this point, the Kambo is coaxing out physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual toxins so they can be released. Participants release them through vomiting, bowel movements, sweating, crying, and/or shaking. Purging can take place one or more times in a session and after the initial water is released we see purges in shades of green, yellow, blue, black, brown, and red, meaning that something significant has come out. The points are taken off the gates within 20 to 40 minutes and participants have the space to lay down and rest.

People generally feel very relaxed directly after Kambo. It is best to avoid stressful activities for the rest of the day and day after the session. You may still experience waves of emotional and spiritual releasing the days following the ceremony. After effects may include a feeling of deep calm, heightened senses, a feeling of well-being and positivity, increased energy, quick reflexes, mental and emotional clarity, and high levels of motivation. Kambo is a form of hunting magic, so post-ceremony is an excellent time to gain clarity on what one is hunting. Because there may have been a belief system cleanse, it can feel easier to hunt your heart’s passions with confidence. Participants can take advantage of these effects by clearing clutter, letting go of negative habits, establishing healthy lifestyle changes, making leaps of faith, and embracing challenges fearlessly.

The Origins of Kambo

Each tribe has its own legend or story about how they came to use Kambo. The most prevalent legend regarding the origins of Kambo comes from Brazil. This Kaxinawá legend tells that the Indians of the tribe were very ill and their medicine man (Pajé in Brazil) had done everything that was possible to cure them. All medicinal herbs known were used, but none helped. Under the effect of sacred plant medicines, he entered the forest and whilst there received a visit from a female spirit of the forest. She brought in her hands a frog, from which she took a white secretion, and taught the Pajé how to apply it. Returning to the tribe and following the guidelines that he had received, the Pajé was able to cure his brothers and sisters. From then on he was known as Pajé Kampu or Kampum. After his death, his spirit lived on in the frog where it continued its mission to protect the health of those who defend the forest. The secretion became known as Kambo but in some tribes it is called Sapo, Dow-Kiet, Kampu or Vacina da Floresta. Its usage spread and for thousands of years, Kambo has been used as medicine by the Kaxinawá people, and by many other indigenous groups including the Amahuaca, Katukina, Kulina, Yawanawá, Matses, Marubo and Mayoruna. It is still used widely amongst indigenous people in the Amazon to this day although the rituals vary from tribe to tribe.  

The first observations of Kambo use were made by a French priest, Father Constantin Tastevin in 1925 whilst he was staying with the Kaxinawá tribe in the upper Juruá River in Brazil. In the 1980’s an American Anthropologist, Katherine Milton described Kambo use among the Mayoruna tribe in Brazil and in the 1980s Peter Gorman wrote about his experiences as the first westerner to take the secretion with the Matses tribe in Peru.

During the 1990’s, rubber tappers in Brazil learned about Kambo from the Amazon Indians. They began to take it out into the towns of Acre and apply it themselves. Having spent several years living with the Katukina, Francisco Gomes from Cruzeiro do Sol was one of the first people to pioneer the use of Kambo outside the Amazon. The practice spread and soon people in the larger cities of Brazil were using Kambo.

In 2004, ANVISA, the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária in Brazil prohibited any advertising of the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of Kambo. This was in response to representation made to the Brazilian government by the Katukina people with regard to intellectual property rights. Aside from this restriction, Kambo is legal everywhere in the world.

More About the Frog

Kambo is a secretion from one of the largest Hylid frogs known as the Giant Green Monkey Tree Frog. Its scientific name is Phyllomedusa bicolor. The frog is nocturnal and arboreal — due to the fact that it has few natural predators it is found in abundance across the Upper Amazon rainforest areas of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela.  

They are large frogs, the male bodies being between 9-10 cm and the females 11-12cm. The dorsum is a vibrant green and the belly a creamy white. They have dark spots on the chest, flank and legs. Reproduction occurs throughout the year, peaking between November and May. They construct hanging nests from folded leaves 1-3 metres above ponds and streams. The females deposit a gelatinous mass containing their eggs into these nests. Theirs is the largest spawn found amongst arboreal frogs of the Amazon. A single spawn contains on average 1000 eggs from which tadpoles emerge within 11-14 days. The IUCN database lists them in the ‘Least Concern’ category in view of their wide distribution and large population. The only known threats to this species of frog at the moment are spawn predation and the potential destruction of their habitat. 

Science of Kambo

Kambo peptides include:

Dermorphin – Dermorphin has an opiate like effect on mu-opioid receptors, making it a very potent painkiller with effects 30-40 times stronger than morphine.

Deltorphin – Deltorphin is also a powerful painkiller and delta opioid agonist.

Phyllomedusin – A neuropeptide that has a powerful effect on intestines and bowels, contributing to the purging often experienced when taking kambo.

Phyllokinin – This neuropeptide can cause a long lasting reduction in blood pressure.

Phyllocaerulein – Another potent painkiller that reduces blood pressure and affects thermoregulation.

Adenoregulin – A 33 amino acid peptide that works with the adenosine receptor. This antibiotic peptide can have harm-reducing effects against a myriad of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, including cancer cells.

Dermaseptin- Induces potent antimicrobial activity against bacteria, yeast, fungi, protozoa, and enveloped viruses that often cause severe opportunistic infections.

Tryptophyllins – Highly potent against the yeast candida, may have potential in cardiovascular, inflammatory and anticancer therapy.

Who Should Use Kambo

The popularity and use of Kambo as a natural healing substance is spreading worldwide.  As the scientific and medical research into the secretion of the Phyllomedusa bicolor grows, skilled practitioners are also developing new ways to work with this powerful secretion from the Amazonian Rain Forest which allows it to be accessible to almost everyone in a safe and manageable way. Not only do we now have a number of different traditional ways to take Kambo but we can also work with the Meridians, the Chakras, Nadis and Marma Points and even the ears – Auricular Kambo.  Added to this, there are also new techniques to allow people to take Kambo in a way that is gentler on their system but still allows them to enjoy the maximum benefits.  Kambo is very safe when given by a properly trained practitioner however there are some conditions for which Kambo is contraindicated, including:

People who:

• Have serious heart problems.
• Are on medication for low blood pressure.
• Have had a stroke.
• Have had a brain haemorrhage.
• Have an aneurism or blood clots.
• Lack the mental capacity to make the decision to take Kambo.
• Have serious mental health problems excluding depression, PTSD and anxiety.
• Are undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy  or for 4 weeks afterwards.
• Take immune-suppressants for organ transplant.
• Have Addison’s Disease
• Have current and severe Epilepsy
• Are recovering from a major surgical procedure
• Are under 18 years old
• Are pregnant or maybe so or are breast-feeding a child under 6 months old

This is not an exhaustive list so it’s important to consult a properly trained and skilled practitioner if you have any serious health issue. Sometimes it depends on the stage of a disease or the constitution of the person receiving Kambo.

What is the IAKP?

The IAKP is a group of practitioners and other interested parties who seek to support and encourage the safe, responsible and legal use of Kambo through training, awareness raising, knowledge development and sharing, research, professional behaviour and best practice.

Thus far the use of Kambo has been unregulated. Although often wrongly classified as a hallucinogenic on the internet, it has escaped the usual legislation and restrictions applied to other medicines from the Amazon rainforest.  The founding of the International Association of Kambo Practitioners, (IAKP) is driven by the desire to see this situation continue. As a regulating body for Kambo Practitioners outside of the Amazon rainforest, we work to support all traditions and lineages of Kambo treatment providers. Our Code of Practice lays down guidelines for the safe and responsible use of Kambo. The impeccable behavior and thorough training of our practitioners and the way they work gives security and confidence to users.

Our website is a source/body of knowledge with links to research, contributions from top practitioners, how to find a trained practitioner, training courses and general information about Kambo. Our Practitioner knowledge base, the KPBase, is only open to current members of the IAKP with Practitioner level membership or above.

As a non-profit organization, the IAKP is committed to ensuring the sustainability of the tribes who own the knowledge of this great medicine and who share it with us so generously. The IAKP, along with other key participants are currently working to provide better educational resources and health care to the remote communities of the Matses tribe of Peru. This exciting and important project was launched in 2016.

What Is Kambo Used For?

The use of Kambo differs among tribes but the main indigenous uses revolve around lifting Panema – an indigenous name for dark or negative energy and for Hunting Magic – they believe it their speed and energy during hunting and that it makes the hunter invisible by temporarily eliminating their human odor. There are many ways they use it medicinally too, including: malaria, snake bites, fevers, infections, fertility problems, to cleanse, detox and strengthen the mind and body, to increase energy and stamina and to reduce pain.

Outside of the forest, Kambo has been the subject of nearly three decades of medical research. As with venoms from snakes and scorpions, researchers believe that Kambo will open up a new world of treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Pain, Cancer, HIV, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, Depression, Vascular problems, Hepatitis, Diabetes, Rheumatism, Arthritis, Addictions and much, much more. Their work consists of attempting to identify, isolate and reproduce the incredible and unique chemical cocktail that Kambo is. It contains dozens of Peptides (short chains of amino acids), some of them bioactive which means they have an affinity and selectivity for binding with receptor sites in humans (A receptor is like a lock that, when opened with the right key—the bioactive peptide—triggers specific chemical reactions in the body).  The peptide families represented in Kambo include bradykinins (phyllokinin), tachykinins (phyllomedusin), caerulein, sauvagine, tryptophyllins, dermorphins, deltorphins and bombesins. Recent studies have shown that Kambo contains multiple antimicrobial peptides effective against drug resistant strains of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites and virus, providing opportunities for the development of new and more efficient nanotechnological-based therapies for treating infectious diseases. Several years of ongoing research by the University of Paris have shown Kambo to be super effective at killing cancer cells and Queens University in Belfast recently won a prestigious award for their ground breaking work with cancer and frog secretions.

Kambo is one of the strongest natural anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antimicrobial and anaesthetic substances found in the world and one of the strongest, natural ways to strengthen the immune system. It also detoxes the liver and the intestines so it’s a powerful cleanser. Immediate and short term effects include enhanced mood, alertness, clarity, focus, energy and increased resistance to stress, tiredness, hunger and thirst. The mind becomes still, you feel lighter and everything becomes easier to manage. In the longer term, Kambo empowers the immune system, rousing the body’s defence systems to their natural functions so that existing health problems are improved or resolved and future ones are less likely to occur. In spiritual terms, Kambo works in a mystical fashion as a light that opens the way, helping us to overcome obstacles and release blockages on an emotional level. It clears our energy field and realigns the chakras enabling us to break negative habits and live and think more naturally.

Despite the billions of pounds/euros and dollars being poured into researching and developing mainstream synthetic medication from Phyllomedusa bicolour frog secretions, no one has yet managed to reproduce the original! Kambo in its original, natural form is a holistic treatment that works on the mind, body, energy and spirit at all levels in ways that we don’t completely understand yet.  The native peoples of the Amazon are quite right to use the word ‘magic’ when describing this substance.

Is Kambo Safe?

Kambo is 100% safe in the right hands. It’s true that there have been accidents in the past, but the number is very small and the circumstances of these incidents have shown that Kambo should not have been given as a result of their pre-existing health conditions. This applies to all healing substances, natural or pharmaceutical, there are always contraindications. Not only is it important for the person giving Kambo to understand these contraindications but it is also important for people taking Kambo to disclose all there health issues to the practitioner. In this way, we can ensure that no more mistakes happen. Kambo is not for everyone. Also be aware that if you are traveling in South America and seek out a remote tribe to take Kambo with, they may not have full knowledge of western health conditions, so be very careful in these situations.

What Happens During a Kambo Treatment?

Kambo is intense but fast. The unpleasant effects are strong and immediate but over within 30 – 40 minutes. The dried Kambo is mixed with a small amount of water and divided into small dots. Then, small points called ‘gates’ are placed into the surface of the skin. The points are approximately 1/8” across but can be smaller or slightly larger depending on the treatment. The top thin layer of skin is blistered with a hot stick and the skin is peeled off to expose the epidermis underneath – this is similar to when you have a blister and the skin rubs off.  There is no blood. The number and position of the points varies from person to person depending on individual needs. If you have a series of treatments in the same session, the same points are reused. The small dots of Kambo are applied to the points. This is the only way to take Kambo – it is not safe to ingest it, snort it or to introduce it into the blood stream directly. The Kambo enters directly into the Lymphatic System so the effect is very fast. Most people experience a warm to hot flush on the upper body and face along with increased heart rate. At this point, different people will react in different ways. Some will feel dizzy, foggy or spaced out; the occasional person will shake or even faint. Some people have swollen lips or face and slight skin tingling. The Kambo will be racing around your body, scanning it for problems and then going directly to work on those areas. You may experience a throbbing or burning sensation in those areas for a short while. Some people may feel some abdominal discomfort and need to defecate. Once the Kambo has cleaned the body you will purge all the toxins out. This purging process works on a physical and emotional level. You may feel tired at this point and need to rest. Within a short time – usually an hour or so you will feel much better and you can drink and eat normally. Within a day or so, depending on your state of health, you will start to feel the real benefits.

Will I Get Permanent Scarring?

The burn marks will heal and fade with time but depending on your skin colour and type you may always have small visible scars. Most people see their Kambo scars as a badge of honor. The same points can be reused after 2- 3 months. After the dots of Kambo are removed, the points are dressed with a natural tree sap. This helps them to heal faster and ensures they stay free from infection until they scab naturally.