FAQs

What is Kambo?

Kambo is the secretion of the Giant Green Monkey Tree Frog, which is also known as Phyllomedusa Bicolor.  See the Kambo Benefits and Peptides page for more detailed information.

Is Kambo safe?

Kambo is completely safe when administered by a qualified practitioner and all guidelines have been followed and there are no contraindications. See Contraindications section for a list of Contraindications.

How is Kambo taken?

Kambo is applied to the skin where small circular burns around 3-5mm have been made to the top layer of skin. It enters through lymph into the lymphatic system. See Preparation and Treatment section for more information.

Will the burn spots scar?

The burn locations heal very fast and usually fade within a few months to where they are no longer visible. The speed to which burn spots fade will depend on the type of skin, some peoples skin returns to normal appearance faster than others, but over time they all fade. The use of Dragon's Blood  which is an antiseptic helps speed up the healing process and reduce scarring. 

What are the effects and how long is the process?

No two Kambo are exactly the same. Just as we are each our own unique expression of Life so is each Kambo treatment, though there are some shared similarities with each experience. See Preparation and Treatment section for a more detailed description.

Is Kambo legal?

Yes! Kambo is legal everywhere in the world. The only current restriction on Kambo are in Brazil where it is not legal to advertise it, but it is still legal to use. In Brazil the Katukina tribe have been granted intellectual property rights to Kambo. That is why advertising is prohibited in Brazil.

Is Kambo psychedelic or hallucinogenic?

No, it is not. See Kambo Benefits and Peptides page to learn more about the peptides and their physiological  effects.

What happens after the treatment?

Directly after your Kambo session you will have time to rest and reflect on your process. There is usually a deep sense of clarity after the session and this is a great time to journal or just be with yourself. After this point when you feel ready we will have tea and some food. Food is important after Kambo, even if its just a small amount with some tea so that the body's electrolytes can begin to be restored.

How is the medicine collected? Are the Frogs harmed in the process?

There are different methods for collecting the medicine. Some are done in an ethical and sustainable way and some are not. This is another reason why it is important to work with a qualified practitioner. I don't believe that someone who has been trained properly and has made a deep connection with the frogs would use medicine that had been collected in an unethical way. 

The traditional way that the medicine is collected is by the tribesmen signing to the frogs until they come down from the trees to the tribesmen. Straw strings are carefully tied to each leg, gently placing the frog into an X shape. From here the secretion is carefully scraped off onto small flat pieces of wood. Some tribes even leave the frogs to sit on a branch as they collect the secretion. Only the first batch of secretion produced by the frog is collected. This leaves plenty of secretion with the frog to continue to protect it from UV rays since it arboreal and inhabits the trees of the Amazon. It is common for the same frogs to come back days later when more harvesting is taking place, but the benefit of using the straw strings is that they leave a small white mark on the legs where they were tied which takes about 3 months to fade. If a frog still has any indication of this mark then it is sent back into the trees and not harvested from. 

This is the ethical and sustainable way in which to harvest Kambo. The tribes of the Amazon know that Kambo is a spirit of the Amazon and is to be treated with the highest level of reverence. They truly honor this spirit and as a result it blesses them with its healing power.