Study and preservation
To research and safeguard the ancestral traditions linked to these plants, in collaboration with Indigenous communities and respecting their rights, territories and knowledge.
The association
A space for care and self-care, growth and self-knowledge
We live in an increasingly technological and fast-paced society, with constant change, where we often live disconnected from ourselves and from nature. That is why we feel that a space for reconnection is more needed today than ever. The scientific evidence shows that ayahuasca supports resilience and psychological flexibility: it helps people adapt better to difficulties and to change. In that sense, it acts as an adaptogen.
The Associació Intercultural AYNI d'Estudis Etnobotànics is entered in the register of associations of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is governed by Llei 4/2008 of the Civil Code of Catalonia, Organic Law 1/2002 regulating the right of association, and its own Statutes.
The name comes from the Andean term ayni: reciprocity. Why we chose it.
Mission and aims
What our Statutes set out
Part of the association's work revolves around study, culture, risk reduction and certain community practices related to entheogens, such as ayahuasca and jurema, which are reserved for adult members.
Community and shared practices
Community, cultural and well-being activities —sharing and singing circles, yoga, meditation, activities in nature— and, for those who choose it, ceremonies with ayahuasca, jurema and other entheogenic plants in a private setting, for adult members only, with prior preparation, support and integration.
Prevention and ethics
Risk-reduction protocols and ethical guidelines for working responsibly with teacher plants and entheogens. How we accompany.
Research and collaboration
Following scientific research on ayahuasca and other entheogens (their effects, their risks and the open lines of research) and collaborating with FERM and other like-minded organisations. See the research.
Informed public debate
To contribute to a rigorous public conversation on the legal and sociocultural situation of teacher plants and entheogens, and on freedom of conscience.
Respect and intercultural dialogue
Respect for each person's beliefs, without imposing dogmas, and dialogue between cultures based on mutual understanding.
As set out in the Statutes, the association does not aim to promote the use of teacher plants and entheogens, but rather to foster actions that reduce the risks associated with irresponsible use.
Structure and functioning
How the association is organised
General Assembly
The sovereign body. It is made up of all members, meets at least once a year and approves the accounts, budgets, membership fees and amendments to the Statutes.
Board
Governs and represents the association. Chair, secretary and treasurer, elected by the General Assembly. These posts are held on an unpaid basis.
Working groups
Committees proposed by the members themselves, which report regularly to the Board on their activities.
Finances
Non-profit. It is funded by membership fees, donations and grants. The financial year coincides with the calendar year and the accounts are approved by the General Assembly.
Preparing ayahuasca. Photo: AYNI
Team
Those who accompany
Those who guide have first been through their own process: they know the work with teacher plants from the inside, and they keep a strict diet of abstinence from tobacco, alcohol and drugs. They are at least one woman and one man, and musicians (some of the music in the ceremonies is their own), trained in meditation, first aid and harm reduction through ICEERS' AyaSafety programme, and they keep training.
Guide
22 years on the ayahuasca path
Twenty-two years of experience with ayahuasca, since 2004, and almost twenty guiding ceremonies. Trained in a Brazilian ayahuasca tradition and with Indigenous peoples of the Juruá (Brazilian Amazon), with experience in therapeutic work with ayahuasca in the context of addiction.
Guide
Therapist and yoga teacher
Holistic therapist and yoga teacher, reiki master, and trained in ThetaHealing, Access Consciousness and magnetic hypnosis. Their first contact with ayahuasca was on a journey to Peru, thirty years ago. They also support the ceremonies and lead the association's yoga practice.
Support
Assistants and professionals
Trained collaborators who support care when the group is larger, and psychology professionals with experience in integration, to whom people are referred when necessary.
The economics of care
Fair pay
As FERM puts it, economics is also part of care: not all the work happens during a session. Preparation, prior interviews, integration and ongoing training take time and dedication, and those who guide receive fair compensation for it, always within a non-profit framework.
AYNI is an independent association, with its own aims, rules and Code of Ethics. Each guide brings their own path. That of one of the founders runs through the Santo Daime: he trained in that tradition and was a guide within it for many years, and is grateful for everything he learned. Even so, AYNI does not belong to that tradition or follow its line.
Out of respect for members' privacy, this website does not publish names.
Joining the association
Becoming a member
Any adult who shares the aims of the association can become a member (article 4 of the Statutes). It is enough to apply in writing, have a welcome conversation with the Board to get to know each other and answer questions, and accept the Statutes and the Code of Ethics. Each person takes part freely: they decide which activities to join and can leave the association whenever they wish.
Being a member entails rights (taking part, with voice and vote, in the General Assembly, electing and being elected, receiving information and consulting the association's records) and duties (sharing the aims, respecting the agreements reached and helping to sustain the association through the membership fees set by the General Assembly). Members may take part in the association's cultural, educational and community activities.
Taking part in ceremonies
Ceremonies are internal activities of the association, open to members. Before taking part, each person goes through a preparation process with us, in which we check together that there are no contraindications. See how we accompany →