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History and heart of our identity
Over the course of the years, over 25 years, our community has been developed and has recovered its identity little by little.
It has seen numerous members come and go. Some of the root group are still present. Others who stayed on for many years, rich from their lived experiences, went on to create their own project on other horizons.
The community has been known to all since its start, as the Casa de Copal, a name derived from that of its original founder, well known by locals for his kindness and great generosity. This name, which has always been on the lips of all the mototaxi drivers and travellers coming to the community for volunteering or to participate in medicine programs, was, in a way, made official just a few years ago when we decided to make ourselves known on social networks. From which, by the way, we recently removed ourselves, for the basic coherence of wanting to live in the real world and not in a virtual one.
So, the Casa de Copal. A name is needed to, on one hand be able to easily designate the place that we wish to promote, and also indicate where you wish to go and then be able to share with your contacts, present or to come. A name greatly simplifying things, rather than having to describe in detail (even if that would be welcome) the said place. In that case: the center where you can volunteer for 15 days all the while receiving lunch and an individual room in exchange, and even extend your stay by 15 days in our new place, which has an emphasis on cooperatives and self-sufficiency, near Machu Picchu, in exchange for accommodation and three free meals, participate in short-, mid-, or long-term medicine programmes by your own choice, learn to start up projects, discover many things in different sectors of activities, receive an in-depth accompaniment on how to found a community, while receiving all the documents to be supported in that, have a real-life experience on how to manage a community and its relations within, discover possible leader potentialities, stay longer term with the possibility of receiving discounts on the costs of accommodation or even access a salary according to your needs and your level of taking responsibilities, where there are various à la carte options of how you want to be implicated, where each one is free to stay or go as they wish, where we chant, discuss a lot about the path, etc. The name of this place is the Casa de Copal. It’s simple!
The community: its places and different denominations
Now, the community being situated in two places, we sometimes specify Choquepata (the name of the rural neighbourhood where the community’s first place is located, in the valley just after the village of Taray), or Huayllaquen (the name of the mountain where the community’s second place is located).
You may also at times hear the internal members speak of Choquepata Hotel or Huayllaquen Hotel. These are not at all official names. It’s purely internal terminology that has the role of facilitating the organisation of the upkeep of the common spaces, the preparation of rooms for new arrivals, the distribution of cleaning products, etc. In short, “housekeeping”.
The above-mentioned names are thus, as you will have gathered, the names of places.
As for Willka Hampi, it’s the name of the spiritual family that is reunited in this community and which serves the projects, the medicine process, the reception of volunteers, the follow-up of medicine retreat participants, etc.
We make a clear distinction between the name Casa de Copal and Willka Hampi, as some people can live for a short or longer time at the Casa de Copal (for example: volunteers, participants in our medicine retreats, participants in the project leaders programme) without that defining them of our spiritual family which is called Willka Hampi. And so the importance of having these two names so that each one feels free in their own definition, without any ambiguity.
It seems to us necessary to clarify this, although in all places there are names of neighbourhoods, street names, names of places found there and the people that occupy them. This is obvious, but in any case, detailed explanations can often be useful for the general public.
The majority of the group, which in reality is quite small (about a dozen people) live at Choquepata, preferring its more animated side, close to social activities in the small village of Pisac, and having Cusco easily accessible.
There is also a very small number of people, often reduced to two, who live permanently at Huayllaquen. Firstly for safety reasons, to guard the place which is isolated in the mountains. But also by personal choice. Principally for the taste for tranquility, to live away from mundane activities. Which, we recognise, not everyone can live or understand.
This doesn’t indicate at all a hierarchy between the people. Everyone in the community has lived as much at Choquepata as at Huayllaquen over the years. Above all, several years ago the winters were so intense that the whole group installed themself in the lower part, Choquepata, to spend the coldest months there. And then going back up to Huayllaquen all together. To live, over the course of the same year, alternating in the long-term, the magic of these two complementary places. A real migration, like in the good old days of the life of nomadic clans. This had a real charm. The climate being more temperate now, each person now lives permanently in one of the two places. However, for the life of the group, we get together almost every weekend at Huayllaquen. Although this could diminish over the course of time, so as to favour the autonomy and the growth of the Choquepata group’s adult maturity.
New people are welcome at Huayllaquen to spend the weekend (when everyone goes up, due to organisational ease) and to meet the people of the group there whom they haven’t already met. Those people, due to their homebody nature, don’t move around except on very rare occasions; not only in the lower part of the community but also in the city.
Emphasis on the relation
At our place, each one is free to develop within the group relationships with the community members that correspond to them. Respecting the mutual and natural getting along. And this is outside of any hierarchical considerations, as we consider, in circle consciousness, each one of equal value. As for meeting the people who live at Huayllaquen, the request will always be considered with apt interest. And it will take place if the desire to meet is real. Since, it goes without saying, we aren’t here to pretend, nor to waste ours or the other’s time. We are here to share a moment that can be mutually very precious in the present of our life.
Our particularity: the medicine path
Why this particularity and type of exigence on behalf of those at Huayllaquen? It’s not at all hierarchical. It’s due to the fact that the people who live permanently at Huayllaquen have a very particular rhythm. Off-beat. Their dedication being principally in service to the medicine, they live more at night than in the daytime, simply put, when in reality they are already living beyond the time commonly known by the majority of beings. Following the natural rhythm guided by the medicine Abuelos. Not really knowing in advance which evening they will be in ceremony, until what hour their ceremonies or ceremony preparation will last, and which evenings they will have a full night of sleep, which will allow them to be able to welcome guests the following day with the energy required to be good hosts.
This is the life of a medicine person in modern times.
So it’s often a bit complex to organise an encountering but, for those who truly want to, and who have a sincere desire and an enthusiasm to meet, we always make it happen. Such as was described by an award-winning francophone writer, a long-distance traveller passionate about expeditions: “Patience is a supreme virtue, the most elegant and the most forgotten. It helps to love the world before pretending to transform it.”
Now, another question to clarify: why all these complicated names amongst the internal members? The internal members of the community have their first and last name of first birth, like everyone else, which is no mystery neither to the other members of the community nor to authorities or local, national or international administration. Each one abiding by the resident’s laws of Peru and by their own country of origin.
In that regard, for having followed a long process out of their own attraction, motivation, implication, choice and decision, at one moment they received at a given moment an initiation name, as is done in all authentic traditions, which is a second birth; that of the spirit. This also means that they define their life on the base of the sacred path of life, and in service to it. This doesn’t at all make people perfect but real students, who are all ready to continually learn from life, who observe themselves, question themselves, and always seek to improve themselves. People who really desire to enter into the maturity of real adult consciousness. Fully responsible for their life. This, for the benefit of all.
They live (we live) continuously in a collective process of discovery of the path, which relies on the sharing of each one’s individual processes. Sharing about what we live, concretely, in the present of our life. A living process where we accompany each other mutually and which, in order to be fruitful, is done on the base of each one’s own will, on mutual trust and active personal implication. Each one managing their rhythm as they feel it. The collective respecting and sustaining each and every one in their definition, which can change. Things working by attraction never by obligation.
We don’t expect at all that new people engage themselves in such a process. We know that it’s a process of deep transformation that’s not easy for everyone to live.
We nevertheless present our process to those who want to know what it’s about, and then it’s up to each one to see if it appeals to them or not, gives them an attraction, opens a new perspective to them, a direction for living with us or elsewhere, in the present or future.
For those to whom this doesn’t correspond, we sustain their freedom to go and look for what really corresponds to them; with respect for what they encountered here, even if it doesn’t correspond to their own particularity or to their present life stage. According to the famous expression: “Good things come to those who wait”, and we would add, to those who are humble, determined and respectful.
Know that you don’t need to have any prerequisites to join us. Whether it’s a particular kind of dedication, spiritual practice, or whatever. No, here we take each one as they are. Without judgment. Without comparison. In full respect. What counts is enthusiasm, motivation, the desire to discover!
A process of discovery of the path
Our process being based on a universal philosophical vision of life and the easily understandable natural structural laws related to it, and which are shared by all normal human beings, it is open and accessible to everyone. Each one then gradually being able to go deeper, according to their will and ambition.
No need either to have prior knowledge of or an affinity to our particular way of living the universal philosophy of life in order to take part, as an experience that doesn’t commit you to anything but can give you the essential bases for your journey of discovery of your own path.
The key to our process is circle consciousness. This means that each one is equally responsible for maintaining a space of harmony in the place that we share: in particular, but not solely, by participating in collective discussions, bringing their objective point of view and their opinion in the face of situations that appear, as part of our learning, considering everyone’s interests, proposing rather than criticising, actively involving themselves so that a collective consensus that will benefit each and every one is reached and agreed upon, sustaining it sincerely. And this is also open to new people!
No longer being children, we are thus not in a patriarchal functioning.
It’s up to each one to manage themself, to manage their relations within the group, their acts, their way of acting, of speaking, and to assume the consequences of that.
Of course, we sustain each other in cultivating this adult consciousness but we don’t take responsibility for the other’s childish behaviour, which would be to still treat them as the child that they no longer are. This is on the basis that each one committed themselves willingly to learn and advance in their consciousness in an active and concrete way.
As we define ourselves as students of life, it’s normal that we are confronted with blockages, resistances, difficulties. It’s why we see every situation as a means to learn, and not as a problem. And we discuss this together, to understand the teaching for everyone, not just for the people implicated; because the process of one is in service to the process of the other. This is also circle consciousness.
We know that this passage to adulthood, a crucial stage traditionally ritualised in order to ensure the realisation, is more and more delayed in our modern societies, and for some may never even be attained; such as in the case of those 40-year-olds considered “eternal teenagers”. It’s also common for us to receive people with an adult body and a child’s mentality. This is not a problem; we are accustomed to it. It’s normal to receive people in such a state (without saying that it’s necessarily that of everyone that comes to us) in our so-called modern society and this is also normal because we’re a medicine center and they are among our patients. We don’t enter into reaction when faced with people who don’t want to surpass this infantile stage. We don’t judge them. We’re here to accompany them if they so desire, to reach adult maturity; knowing the symptoms that characterise this misalignment with the natural rhythm of a person’s evolution. And having also followed a whole process that has given us access to the deep and more often than not subconscious roots, that can block what is, after all, a natural progression. It’s this that we offer to the patients that come to us: to accompany them in their process of transmutation of their consciousness, gradually discovering the reality of their being and recovering the consciousness of how to relate in a healthy way with life, its natural structures, it’s dynamic.
You’ll understand, our center doesn’t have an emphasis on healing the body, but rather the spirit, the psyche, the consciousness. We don’t negate bodily necessities but see them in a consequent manner, as complementary. For us it’s, in itself, the healing of the spirit, that will come to sustain the alignment and well-being of the body, which we take care of all the same through a hearty and balanced alimentary diet, foods we produce ourselves (candied ginger, cereal mixes, kefir and kombucha, pickled foods, ghee, paneer, etc.), natural treatments (infusions, sun baths), rituals such as sweat lodges, activities in nature such as archery and horse care, osteopathy sessions, food supplements and natural remedies for those who need it, etc.
If this appeals to you, welcome!
Functioning and hosting
Also, as a medicine center, we have established rules of functioning to ensure the comfort as well as the security of people we receive. We have established a very detailed contract with the goal of facilitating their whole stay, very clearly advising new people of the essential security conditions to follow, particularly for those who wish to take sacred plants.
The members of our collective are particularly attentive the first few days to help get you settled in, ready to explain to you why such or such thing is recommended, or even requested, to be followed (for example: a typhoid test, drinking water, quiet hours in the house, etc.); this is not to put any pressure on you but to help you integrate collective living.
We remind you that at our place, everyone is in a learning process. We therefore ask that you be, at the same time appreciative in front of the professionalism of our members when that is the case, but also to be, or at least try to be, tolerant of our members when they sometimes lack tact, know-how or clarity, particularly in relations and communication with others. Understanding that a big part of our process is precisely about relearning to live authentic relationships. And taking into account that the subconscious programmings that block a healthy relation from being developed are numerous, complex, and deeply established in the whole collective subconscious; which is to say, in each one of us, at different levels. We are thus all involved in confronting them, working on them, and transmuting them into something healthy and aligned with life.
On our part, we diligently and constantly work on that, as medicine people in continual learning. For those who wish to undertake this work in a serious way, our door is wide open to you. We know that you are few and far between, but it’s quality that matters to us the most. And it doesn’t matter where you are at. What we value is your motivation and the sincerity of your quest.
For those who aren’t ready, we understand, and we hope that you know how to withdraw cordially, with respect for those who dedicate their life to profound changes in their consciousness, for the collective good, with the hope of seeing the emergence of a new society.
Circle consciousness and coordination
Let’s get down to a practical level. It should be known that we are not a business with the finality of economic development. Although our projects allow us to support our basic necessities, their goal is above all to permit people to enter into circle consciousness. Basically, this means to act in a team spirit in an adult manner: cultivating relationships of mutual support, of solidarity and collaboration, all the while assuming responsibilities at different levels, taking an initiative to make new proposals to improve things; proposals that open new perspectives, which are considered by the whole group for a common agreement.
This is of course an ideal description, a direction to achieve step by step. In concrete terms, it isn’t always straightforward to function this way, seeing as we are a small group. Many tasks thus need to be done individually. But in any case, we try to apply this way of acting as often as possible; on the Andean faena model, where everyone, regardless of their particular skills, participates in a shared task that needs to be accomplished for the collective interest. For example, in the present, we are going to organise having everyone put their hands (and hearts) into restoring the old, underground irrigation channels in one of the fields on our Huayllaquen land, to ensure that the cedar trees bordering our land survive the dry season.
It should be known that one of our community’s biggest emphases is organisation, more commonly called in our group: coordination. Coordination in all its forms: prioritising projects, planning their realisation in the short-, mid-, and long-term, listing tasks to accomplish, detailing their order of implementation, establishing schedules to steadily advance projects, using basic but efficient tools to manage one’s time well, which is a precious value for each and every one.
If you really think about it, this emphasis of our collective on coordination makes complete sense when you consider our geographic location: that of the ancient, glorious and vast Inca empire, rightly reputed for its great potentiality for social organisation. It would seem that we are thus connected to this potentiality, whether people on the outside understand it or not; in any case, it’s what drives us. And we are here too always looking for improvement, to stay on the middle path: not too much, nor too little. Organisation to manifest things: yes. Bureaucracy to get stuck in inactivity: no. And often we need to go from one extreme to the other in order to understand its pitfalls, and to readjust.
Sectors of activities and involvement
Concretely, how do people get involved in the projects? Each person is implicated in the active sectors of activities in the community, with functions of responsibilities at different levels according to their desire to advance, and which seem to them possible and favourable to do in their present process. The distribution is done on the basis of the person’s attraction, which can change over time. It’s why rotations are regularly put into place, to allow each one to experience the richness of the different sectors; all while staying in one sector for sufficient time to discover all its subtleties, become competent in it, and also to be able to transmit their assets to others.
Below you will find the list of our present sectors of activities in order of priority. You’ll note that we also have projects of sectors of activities that are on hold and/or pending activation. Also welcome to all people motivated for that!
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Visits, accommodation;
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programmes;
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medicine process and internal formation;
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texts and publications;
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internal coordination and supervision of projects;
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communication and publicity;
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economy and investments;
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central council for making decisions and managing related situations;
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garden and permaculture;
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agri-alimentation;
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shopping and preparation of collective meals;
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development of family houses;
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upkeep of the shared house;
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animal care;
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maintenance, renovations and construction;
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vehicle upkeep;
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mystic arts (to be activated);
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new system of parent-child education (to be activated);
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council of elders (to be activated);
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cultural center (to be activated);
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laboratory of medicinal plants and natural remedies (to be reactivated).
Collective self-sufficiency
So, when we say that we’re not a profit-driven organisation, that doesn’t mean neither that we are, or that we depend on, an NGO and that we can receive people for free, sustaining the costs of their stay. No, it’s not the case. As with new people (volunteers, participants in the medicine process and programmes), we all participate in the costs of accommodation, food, and medicine. One part in money, and the other by participating actively in making the machine run. And, as our mission is to sustain people motivated to encounter the path and participate in the emergence of a new society, we have put a whole system of compensation in place that permits each one to be able to stay the time necessary for their formation: a system of reduction, salaries, etc. On the basis of their honesty to not ask for more than what they need; this is so as not to enter into exploitation with us, and to allow those who really need it to access this economic support. We’re not looking for employees because we’re not a business. We’re looking for beings wishing to establish an authentic human relationship.
For us, transparency at the level of money, which is originally a divine energy to be respected, but also transparency in all situations that appear within the collective, regardless of how long people have been here, is important and raises an essential human virtue to restore in our societies: that of serving the truth.
Although we openly treat certain basic situations, we also have more confidential spaces for treating certain situations that require more privacy; this goes without saying. A personal relation and the mutual trust that goes with it, gradually being established over time.
Our identity beyond appearances
For transparency and to avoid all surprises upon your arrival, below is a photograph of each of the active members of our collective. Of our spirit family!
So, you’ll ask us, are you guys gringos? In appearance yes, it’s true that the majority were born in a western garment in this life.
Now, we have had, for our part, sufficient encounterings in ceremonies, memories and visions brought by the medicine, proof, authentic confirmation from people of the red path, to know that we are in reality: a medicine circle, a clan, established together on the path since past life. And yes, as we will explain in our programmes: don’t trust appearances!
Sceptics, refrain…
We know well that our understanding of life is not easily understood by all. We also know that we cannot please or suit everyone; which is completely normal. We are not affected by the possible criticism that we have received or will yet receive; on the contrary, they reinforce us. Because, as our Guru Acharya, Srila Prabhupada said, in a reformulation accessible to everyone: “If in your service to awakening consciousness you don’t receive any criticism, put yourself into question!” So, if criticism about us, collective or included members, appears, it is for us a very good sign: one which is in harmony with what our masters on the path expect from us, that we are going in the right direction. They are the mark of our integrity. They prove, through the resistance of the other to put into question their way of seeing things, that we are transmitting an aligned consciousness. We don’t judge those people, knowing that the process of transmutation of consciousness can be slow, long and difficult. This awakens even more the sense of compassion in us and encourages us to continue in our dedication; without forcing things, without expectation of whom it will correspond to. Also, you will understand, at our place: no taboos. And we don’t mince words. We are intact. So that you know where you’re setting foot. We are warriors, soft-hearted, but warriors. If you have this disposition in you, we are steadfastly waiting for you… with heart wide open!
Aho! Adiwa! Haribol!
Until we meet…
The clarity of who we are and how we live is what we’ve wanted to transmit through this narrative presentation. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading, that it has inspired you, given trust, a desire to contact us, to meet us or to sustain us in one way or another.
Thank you for your time, patience, and attention.
See you soon.
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