Sacred Journeys with Ancestral Medicine
Retreats and experiences guided by wisdom keepers of the Andes and Amazon.
This is a return to your creative nature
Together, we'll explore
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The connection between Creativity, Body and Soul
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Creative blocks at the energetic and emotional level
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The creative portals of the body: imagination, intuition, voice, feeling, movement
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The power of medicinal plants as allies of vision
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Andean and Amazonian traditions
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Creativity as a tool for healing, vision and manifestation
This retreat is for you if you're experiencing:
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Disconnection from your own creativity
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Physical and mental exhaustion
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Confusion in your professional direction
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Expressive block
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Loss of inspiration
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Difficulty trusting your own intuition
THE EXPERIENCE
Everything you need to know
Creative Alchemy is an initiatory journey dedicated to returning to the creative nature of the human being. A retreat designed specifically for conscious entrepreneurs, holistic practitioners, guides, facilitators, and women who feel the call to awaken their authentic creativity as a vital, spiritual, and professional force.
For 8 days, from April 1st to 8th, 2026, participants will be immersed in the sacred nature of Ecuador, in a protected, ritual, and deeply transformative context. The heart of the retreat is the exploration of creativity as medicine, as a portal of connection with the soul, vision, body, and spirit.
Through:
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The creation of a safe space for transmutation
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Andean and Amazonian traditions
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Somatic, artistic practices and rituals
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Ceremonial encounters where plants become allies in our creative processes
Participants will be guided to open and activate the different creative portals present in the body: imagination, intuition, voice, deep feeling, and expression.
The retreat will be co-facilitated by Enzo Mercedes, a multifaceted artist, guardian and carrier of ancient Andean and Amazonian traditions, who will guide some of the ceremonies and deeper work connected to ancestral wisdom and the sacred relationship with medicinal plants.
This is not a simple retreat, but a true alchemical path of transformation, in which creativity becomes the tool to:
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Transform old identities
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Remember who you Are even more deeply
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Realign with your Soul Mission
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Reactivate your creative power as a woman, as a guide, as a Creator of the soul
At the end of the retreat, each participant will return with a renewed and rooted relationship with their own Creativity, a clearer vision of their path, and concrete tools to bring into their life and work.
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The retreat includes:
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7 nights of shared accommodations at Finca LaSofia with comfortable bedding, linens, and complementary laundry service
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Airfare from Quito - Loja - Quito
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Roundtrip domestic flight from Quito to Loja
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Private airport transfers with snacks and water provided
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All meals throughout the retreat aligned with ceremonial diet protocols
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Opening and closing Chakana ceremonies with grain offerings
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Introduction to Andean cosmovision and ancestral wisdom teachings
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Early morning sacred hike to Mandango mountain with offering ceremony
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Temazcal (sweat lodge) ceremony with orientation and preparation
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Huachuma (San Pedro) power walk ceremony with visit to Yangana river
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Pampa Mesa ceremony and fire with Grandfather Fire
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Cacao ceremony during guided visit to Palanda
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Pottery workshop with local artisan Raquel
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Integration circles and word circles throughout the retreat
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Daily circles for sharing, learning, and connection
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Leisure morning in Vilcabamba town
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Access to steam bath, cold plunge, and pool
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Co-facilitation by Arianna Isabella, Enzo Mercedes & The Sacred Seed Team
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Support from local ritualists and tradition carriers
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GRATUITIES AND TIPS are not included.
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optional massage therapies and horseback riding fees are not included.(massage average cost: $70 per hour / horseback riding morning cost: $40 for 2 hours.
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We require a 50% payment to secure your spot.
The remaining 50% is due 30 days before the retreat begins. This approach ensures your space is reserved while giving you time to plan the final payment.Facilitated by Casa Hacienda LaSofía.
We pour our hearts, time, and resources into preparing each retreat. Sacred Seed is a small, family-run operation—from ceremony planning and facilitation, to coordinating with local shamans and medicine carriers, to meals, logistics, and creating a safe container for transformation.
We deeply respect your time, energy, and commitment to this sacred journey—and in return, we ask for the same. This cancellation policy exists to honor the integrity of the retreat container and the logistical realities involved in creating these transformational experiences.
Because our retreats are intimate gatherings with limited capacity, every registration matters deeply.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO CANCEL:
We understand that life happens. However, when you reserve your space, we immediately incur costs related to accommodations, venue bookings, facilitation, and commitments to our local partners and healers. For this reason, we do not offer refunds, but we do offer credit options:
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30 to 60+ days before retreat start: 100% of your deposit will be credited toward another Sacred Seed retreat within 12 months.
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20 to 29 days before retreat start: 50% of your deposit will be credited toward another retreat within 12 months. The other 50% is non-transferable and non-refundable.
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19 days or fewer before retreat start: No credit or refund will be issued. However, in exceptional circumstances (medical emergencies, family loss, etc.), we may offer a one-time credit on a case-by-case basis.
Alternative Options: If you find yourself unable to attend, you may also:
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Transfer your spot to a friend, sister, or loved one who feels called
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Save your credit for a future Sacred Seed retreat or offering
To cancel: Email us at sacredseedsanctuaryec@gmail.com and follow up with a phone call to confirm your cancellation.
IF WE CANCEL THE RETREAT:
In the unlikely event that Sacred Seed must cancel due to natural disaster, political instability, illness, or any unforeseen force majeure, your payment will be fully transferred to a rescheduled retreat date.
Please note: Sacred Seed is not responsible for airfare, travel costs, lodging, or other personal expenses incurred due to cancellation or postponement.
This policy allows us to keep these gatherings sustainable, honor our partnerships with local healers and the land, and continue to serve with integrity.
Thank you for understanding and honoring the commitment that makes this sacred work possible.-
Meet Your Guides
Arianna Isabella is a Creative mentor, Voice alchemist, and facilitator of transformative processes dedicated to women, holistic entrepreneurs, and all those who feel the call to reconnect with their deep Creative nature.
Her mission is to accompany women in awakening to their most authentic vision, freeing their expression from centuries of conditioning and returning to a way of living and creating rooted in Inner Truth.
Arianna facilitates processes in which creativity becomes medicine, a bridge between vision and manifestation, between what a woman is and what she can become. In her retreats and journeys, she brings years of study, research, and personal integration, weaving together ancient practices, somatic work, exploration of the creative body, and ritual spaces that foster healing and expansion.
With deep devotion to ancestral traditions and the sacred relationship with nature, Arianna holds and facilitates circles in which intimacy, listening, and truth become fertile ground for real inner change. Her guidance is intuitive, poetic, structured, and at the same time fluid: a continuous invitation to return home, within oneself.
In the context of Creative Alchemy Retreat, Arianna Isabella accompanies participants on an alchemical journey through the creative portals of the body—imagination, intuition, voice, feeling, movement—offering concrete tools to awaken one's Creativity, Vision, and Expression.
Enzo Mercedes is a bridge between cultures. His work focuses on the preservation and transmission of the knowledge of Andean and Amazonian peoples, so that their wisdom can expand and resonate beyond borders.
Through rituals, sensory journeys, artistic practices, and ancestral customs, he aims to share a profound vision on cultural preservation, body awareness, sound, and herbal medicine.
During the Creative Alchemy Retreat experience, Enzo offers himself as a joyful, wise, and grounded companion: a light yet stable presence that invites participants to remember the beauty of flexibility and conscious surrender. A call to allow oneself to be enveloped by a state of active relaxation, fully recognizing oneself as the protagonist of one's own life path.
The creation of an altar, the relationship with Mother Earth through dedicated rituals, and the conscious use of plants that support creative flow become tools of connection and transformation. Together, these gestures open the way to the deep purpose of the retreat: creative alchemy, understood as the art of transmuting a vision into matter, in alliance with the elements and subtle energies that surround us.
Every project that Enzo undertakes is born from a single intent: to create sacred meeting spaces where ancestral traditions intertwine with the present, awakening new forms of understanding, presence, and awareness.
The Sacred Seed Team
Gabriel Cucalón
Co-Founder & Holistic Director
Gabriel is the cultural bridge at Sacred Seed—deeply rooted in the ancestral medicines of Ecuador and the Indigenous wisdom keepers who hold these traditions.
For over a decade, he has not only built relationships with local shamans and medicine carriers, but has walked the medicine path himself, sitting in ceremony countless times and learning the language of these sacred plants from the inside out.
His work extends beyond facilitation—he specializes in holding space and guiding integration, helping participants translate the wisdom of ceremony into lasting transformation in daily life.
During Alchimia Creativa, he ensures every detail is tended to, every participant feels held, and the container remains sacred. He is your anchor, your guide, and your connection to this land.
Raquel Vivar
Location Manager & Guardian of the Land
Raquel is the heart and guardian of Finca LaSofia. A native of Loja, she left the city to take the reins of her family's farm, transforming it over seven years into a sanctuary for healing and regeneration.
Guided by spiritual healers and shamans who passed through the land, Raquel awakened to the farm's deeper purpose—not just to produce food, but to hold space for transformation.
Today, the farm thrives as a living expression of sustainable agriculture and holistic wellness, growing everything from vegetables and herbs to coffee and tropical fruits.
During Alchimia Creativa, Raquel will guide you through the land she has so lovingly cultivated—introducing you to the panela factory, the medicinal plants, the animals, and the rhythms of regenerative farming.
She'll also facilitate the pottery workshop, inviting you to work with clay as creative medicine.
As your host, Raquel ensures every guest feels truly at home, tending to both the land and the people with the same care and warmth. You'll leave with a tangible piece of your transformation, shaped by your own hands.
What You'll Carry Home
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Deep reconnection with your own creative nature
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Clarity on your personal and professional vision
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Greater trust in your own intuition
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Creative and energetic tools applicable in life and work
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Expansion of your expressive capacity
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Grounding and inner alignment
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Authentic connection with other women on the path
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Renewed relationship with your body as a creative portal and wisdom source
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Tools for transmuting vision into matter through alchemical practice
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Liberation from old identities that no longer serve you
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Connection with Andean and Amazonian wisdom woven into your creative practice
What previous Guests are Saying:
"Every part of this retreat was an answered prayer”
“There are rare moments on this path when you feel entirely held by the earth, the cosmos, the sacred plants, and the hearts of those around you. In Vilcabamba I experienced such a moment. These lands are alive with memory. At Casa Finca La Sofia Pachamama wrapped us in warmth through her gardens, the nourishing food, the way the sun met the morning mist, and how the mountains cradles us in this sacred valley.
Adela Bustamante holds space in a way that can’t be taught, only embodied. She carries the frequency of a woman who has walked through her own fire and emerged as medicine.
Her presence was both fierce and soft, maternal and mystical. Under her guidance I felt safe to be fully held in ceremony and deeply honored that it was in her homeland.
Gracias hermana por tu camino y Corazon.
The men of Sacred Seed Sanctuary showed up with humility, reverence, and deep integrity.
It was healing to be held by the masculine who move in quiet service to the feminine, gracias hermanos.”
Michelle Arias - United States
“Each ceremony was held in the spirit of reciprocity, love, and respect, honoring both the sacred practices and the lineage from which they come.”
This year, I had the privilege and honor of joining Adela and the beautiful souls of Sacred Seed in Vilcabamba. After sitting with Adela in my homeland of Ireland, I knew I wanted to make the journey to be with her on her own sacred land.
Adela holds a deeply safe and powerful ceremonial space. She embodies ancient wisdom and carries a profound depth of feminine power and softness. It's difficult to put such a powerful experience into words, but during my time at Casa Sofia, I felt truly held and supported by Adela, Gabriel, Vincent, and Rachel.
As a Western, white visitor in Ecuador, it was important to me to approach ceremony with deep reverence for the traditions, the land, and the ancestors. Each ceremony was held in the spirit of reciprocity, love, and respect—honoring both the sacred practices and the lineage from which they come.
If your are feeling the call to go to Ecuador I highly recommend listening to your heart and joining Adela and Sacred seed.
I certainly pray to be back again some day.
Louise Waters - Ireland
“Working with Adela has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life. She is, without a doubt, the most gifted Ayurvedic practitioner and retreat facilitator. Every session with her, whether it's a deeply nourishing Ayurvedic body treatment, a soul-centered consultation, or a profoundly spiritual-healing retreat, feels like being held in the most sacred, intentional care.
She brings ancient wisdom to life with a rare depth of knowledge, intuition, and compassion. Her hands carry a healing intelligence, her words offer clarity and grounding, and her presence alone is medicine. What sets her apart is not only her variety of services she offers, but the way she genuinely sees you and supports your unique journey with grace, and unconditional love.
The many plant medicine retreats I've attended with her were beyond anything I could have imagined, safe, beautifully curated, and truly life-changing. Her ability to create a container of trust and transformation is unmatched. You feel held, seen, and deeply respected at every turn.
She is one of a kind. A true healer. A guide. A gift.
If you are called to work with her, say yes. Your body, heart, and soul will thank you.”
Steffi Neth - Germany
Cosa sapere prima di venire
