Join us for a very special women’s journey to the heart of our planet, the Ecuadorian rainforest. We travel here at the invitation of the indigenous Achuar people, in support of their goals to protect their ancient culture and keep their forests intact for future generations.

Our visit will focus on the groundbreaking Ikiama Nukuri program (Achuar for “Women Keepers of the Forest,” a project of the Pachamama Alliance formerly known as Jungle Mamas). This program has not only greatly improved community health and birthing practices but has also become a platform for women of an entire culture to find their voice. We'll hear directly from women whose lives have benefited from Ikiama Nukuri, and talk with their local health promoters to understand the challenges faced in expanding this program in a highly patriarchal culture.

We’ll have the rare opportunity to participate in these women’s daily lives, learning about their unique culture through hands-on village activities, from visiting their sacred gardens to making pottery and creating beautiful baskets.

This journey will immerse you in the spiritual dimension of life, and offer new perspectives through exploring the sacred traditions and cosmological vision of the Achuar people, whose lives are shaped by their dreams and their intimate connection with the natural world.

Testimonials:

"Heartfire Journeys puts together spectacular trips that cannot be had through many other travel options. The richness of the cultural experience is better than I could have imagined. That coupled with the knowledge that everything will be taken care of, make a very relaxing AND engaging experience. I know that if there was a problem at any time, Patricia and her team would be there to help. I did not worry about my safety at any time. Not worrying about safety or the next part of the journey allowed me to be present at every moment."  - Terri Y, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

"All the tour guides were outstanding! Loved the planes, loved the canoes, loved the villages, Loved everything."  - Polly F, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

"I love your trips. You provide experiences of incredible depth and personal interaction with our hosts and their communities. I feel as though I have had an intimate view into and connection with another person’s world and culture."  - Frances F, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

"Every experience was packed with new sensations: the best of gracious cultures in the city and rain forest, physical environments like none I had previously experienced both in the Andes and the rain forest, a real time education about the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and intensely feeling the fragility of the earth. I feel privileged to have met and spent time with individuals who are changing the world." - Jan P, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

"Heartfire Journeys puts together spectacular trips that cannot be had through many other travel options. The richness of the cultural experience is better than I could have imagined. That coupled with the knowledge that everything will be taken care of, make a very relaxing AND engaging experience. I know that if there was a problem at any time, Patricia and her team would be there to help. I did not worry about my safety at any time. Not worrying about safety or the next part of the journey allowed me to be present at every moment."  - Terri Y, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

"All the tour guides were outstanding! Loved the planes, loved the canoes, loved the villages, Loved everything."  - Polly F, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

"I love your trips. You provide experiences of incredible depth and personal interaction with our hosts and their communities. I feel as though I have had an intimate view into and connection with another person’s world and culture."  - Frances F, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

"Every experience was packed with new sensations: the best of gracious cultures in the city and rain forest, physical environments like none I had previously experienced both in the Andes and the rain forest, a real time education about the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and intensely feeling the fragility of the earth. I feel privileged to have met and spent time with individuals who are changing the world." - Jan P, Women's Journey to the Amazon Rainforest, October 2021

Patricia Andersson, founder of Heartfire Journeys, is partnering with Pachamama to create this unique trip. Over the last 12 years, Patricia has taken groups of adventurous women travelers on journeys throughout the developing world, connecting with the women in the countries we visit and the local nonprofits that serve them. Through these meetings we deepen our understanding of different cultures and explore our shared sisterhood. We challenge what we think we know, emerging with a shift in perspective that shrinks our sense of the world by expanding the global family of which we are a part. Find out more at www.heartfirejourneys.net