Guarana: Ancestral Rememberance Retreat - October 2026

GUARANA: ANCESTRAL REMEMBERANCE
A Ceremonial Immersion in Taíno Ceramics, Foodways, and Living Arts in Kiskeya

October 14-19, 2026
Kiskeya (Dominican Republic)

I want to share with you a dream that has lived in my heart for many years: to bring forth Ancestral Remembrance immersions in Kiskeya, which I am naming Guanara, spaces of learning, ceremony, healing, and return, rooted in the memory of the land.

Here, Criollo honors the living culture of the island that we carry in the ways we live, cook, speak, make, and remember every day.

Guanara is a Taíno-Arawak word that speaks of a faraway place of retreat, purification, fasting, and spiritual preparation to receive knowledge. In that spirit, I want to invite a small circle to Kiskeya for five days of ancestral remembrance through clay, foodways, river, fire, and Taíno and Criollo living arts. Using Criollo to honor the culture we carry in the ways we live, cook, speak, make, and remember every day .

I am sending this invitation to you first so you have priority to register and reserve your place before we open it to the wider public. In one week, we will begin sharing Guanara more broadly, but I wanted this first doorway to open for the Sacred Taíno Healing community, who has been walking with this vision in prayer, learning, and remembrance.

For five days, we will give ourselves time to live differently. We will be closer to the earth, closer to ourselves, closer to ceremony, and closer to the Taíno and Criollo living memory of Kiskeya.

The Heart of This Guanara 

Together, we will work with clay from the land our ancestors touched and shaped with their hands.

The shaping of clay into ceremonial pieces and daily objects carried beauty, nourishment, and spirit into community life. Traditionally, this work lived in the hands of women, who carried the knowledge of clay through the generations. In this Guanara, we will honor that ancestral memory and the lineage of continuity carried through clay, hands, earth, and fire.

With this Taíno ceramics immersion, I will be opening the path for the Guanara ancestral remembrance immersions in Kiskeya. We will begin by honoring clay as the body of Itiba Kaubaba, Mother Earth. It is the womb of origin, nourishment, and ancestral memory, where all things are shaped, held, and transformed.

Together, we will enter the living world of Taíno clay and ceramics by creating a Taíno vessel and a buren -- the flat clay griddle traditionally used to cook casabe -- exploring ancestral carving symbols, and building a Criollo ceramic kiln, part of a centuries-old firing tradition still remembered in Kiskeya.

We will honor the coming together of the four sacred elements — Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind — as clay is transformed into ceramic. These elements are sacred gifts that sustain life, connect us to the natural world, and remind us to live with gratitude and balance.

To honor them is to honor creation, our ancestors, and the prayers carried through the land, the waters, the flame, and the air. Through this process, we will listen to the wisdom of being shaped, transformed, and returned to ancestral memory.

Clay will also become part of a healing ritual offered to Itiba Kaubaba, Mother Earth, the womb of origin, and to Atabeira, who carries the agua dulce (the sweet waters of the river and the life-giving waters of the womb) as a gesture of cleansing, grounding, and remembrance.

Ancestral Foodways

We will eat roots, fruits, yuca, casabe, and foods that have nourished our people for generations.

We will enter the world of ancestral foodways by preparing casabe and uiko, the traditional Taíno fermented drink made from yuca, remembering that food is ceremony, nourishment, and a relationship with the land.

Throughout the immersion, the work will be held with permission, prayer, and gratitude. Clay and yuca will be approached as living presences connected to the earth, the ancestors, and the spirits that dwell within them.

What We Will Experience

This Guanara will include:

• Opening Circle and Communal Altar Building
• Shaping a Taíno replica of a ceramic vessel
• Creating a buren for casabe
• Learning about clay preparation
• Exploring Taíno ancestral carved symbols and the art of sgraffito
• Participating in the building of a Criollo ceramic kiln
• Fire Circle of Ancestral Stories
• Preparing casabe
• Preparing uiko, the traditional Taíno fermented drink made from yuca
• Ancestral Journey: Listening to the Ancestors
• A clay healing ritual offered to Itiba Kaubaba and Atabeira
• River cleansing and grounding
• Evening Fire of Reflection and integration
• Firing of the ceramic pieces
• Closing Areito Ceremony
  

What You Will Create and Receive

You will return home with:

• Two Taíno ceramic replica pieces created by your own hands: a vessel and a buren
• A deeper understanding of Taíno ceramic traditions
• The knowledge of making a Criollo ceramic kiln
• The knowledge of making casabe and preparing uiko
• A culinary experience rooted in Taíno and Criollo cuisine
• A relationship with the ceramic vessel, buren, casabe, uiko and ceramic kiln
• A deeper connection with the land, the ancestors, and the memory that still lives through clay, food, river, and fire

This is a ceremonial immersion rooted in remembrance, respect, and relationship.

Who This Guanara Is For

This Guanara is for a small circle of participants who feel called to learn in a grounded, respectful, and embodied way.

It is for people who wish to enter into a relationship with Taíno and Criollo living memory through clay, foodways, ceremony, and the land of Kiskeya.

Previous ceramic experience is not required. Participants are invited to come with sincerity, openness, respect for the cultural and spiritual nature of the work, and willingness to participate in community.

What Is Included

The Guanara immersion includes:

• Five-day ceremonial immersion
• Lodging during the retreat dates
• Meals during the immersion
• Round-trip transportation between the designated airport and the retreat center
• Clay preparation workshop
• Ceramic workshops and materials
• Taíno ceramic vessel-making workshop
• Buren-making workshop
• Participation in the Criollo ceramic kiln process
• Casabe-making workshop
• Uiko traditional yuca drink preparation
• Ceremonial and ritual gatherings throughout the Guanara immersion
• Teachings, guidance, and integration spaces

Akutu Irka Mateo is a descendant of the Arawak/Taíno people from Kiskeya (Dominican Republic) and a leading voice in indigenous identity reclamation. In recognition of her leadership and cultural and spiritual contributions, she was awarded Taíno Woman of the Year 2025–2026 by the Taino Awards in New York City. She is the founder of Sacred Taino Healing, where she teaches ancestral spirituality and ceremonial music, bridging past and present to support personal and community transformation.
Through her work, she fosters connection to ancestral memory through the living arts , land, ceremony, and the ancestors, offering grounded guidance for healing, resilience, remembrance, and community empowerment.

Ramón Guillén is a master of clay and a guardian of Taíno ceramics. For more than 40 years, he has worked with clay as a living practice of memory, creating replicas inspired by the original people of Kiskeya and establishing himself as one of the leading references in this art form. His craft was born in Yamasá, Kiskeya, where he carries forward a deep family legacy shared across generations, keeping alive the connection between past and present. Through clay, he creates spaces of encounter with identity, community, and ancestral knowledge.

Babi Lizardo works with local clay from Kiskeya and has more than eight years of experience in the bioconstruction of kilns for firing clay, especially through techniques such as quincha, cob, relief work, and natural paints. She is also the creator of handmade pieces born from a deep connection with the earth and its ancient teachings. In addition to developing her own artistic practice, she has specialized in teaching the bioconstruction of ceramic kilns and the making of ancestral clay pieces.

Ticket Types

Shared rooms — shared bath

• Shared room (3 beds, shared bath)

• Shared room (2 beds, shared bath)

Shared rooms — private bath

• Shared room (3 beds, private bath)

• Shared room (2 beds, private bath)

Casitas

• Casita (private bath outside) 

• Casita (private bath inside) 

Special casita

• Private room (queen bed) 

• Shared room (2 full beds)

Contribution & Payment

The Guanara is a gathering prepared with care, where each participation supports the space, the food, the logistics, the team, and the presence of those who carry these traditions, including the original tradition bearers.

To confirm your place, a $500 USD deposit is required.

This deposit secures your space within the circle.

The full contribution must be completed by: September 1, 2026. This allows us to prepare the gathering with clarity and respect for all those involved.

Ways to Complete Your Contribution

We understand that each person is in a different financial reality. For this reason, we offer different ways to complete your contribution:

• Full Payment
  You may complete your full contribution at the moment of registration.
  This directly supports the preparation of the Guanara.
  
• Monthly Payment Plan
  After the initial deposit, the remaining balance can be completed in monthly payments from May through September
  
  Example: For a contribution of $1,500:
  • $500 deposit
  • Remaining $1,000 divided over the following months. We will provide your exact payment schedule after registration.

• Individual Arrangements
  If you need to organize your contribution in a different way, you are welcome to write to us at info.guanara.kiskeya@gmail.com.
  We will do our best to find a way that supports your participation while maintaining the integrity of the gathering.

Commitment & Important Notices

Your participation in the Guanara is a commitment to the process we will share as a group and to the people who are making this gathering possible.

By confirming your place, you are committing to completing your contribution within the agreed time. All contributions must be completed by September 1.

By making your deposit, you confirm that you have read and accept the payment terms and cancellation policy. If you feel called to complete your contribution sooner, this directly supports the preparation of the gathering.


Pricing 

Shared Rooms — Main Building

Shared bathroom

• Shared room (3 beds, shared bath) — $1,400 per person

• Shared room (2 beds, shared bath) — $1,500 per person

Private bathroom

• Shared room (3 beds, private bath) — $1,550 per person

• Shared room (2 beds, private bath) — $1,650 per person

• Casa de la Luna (2 beds, private bath) -- $1,500 per person -- SOLD OUT

• Casa de la Luna  (queen bed, single occupancy) — $1,800 per person -- SOLD OUT

• Casa del Viento (2 beds, external private bath) — $1,700 per person -- SOLD OUT

• Casa del Agua (2 beds, private bath) — $1,750 per person -- SOLD OUT

• Casa de la Tierra (2 beds, private bath) — $1,750 per person -- SOLD OUT

• Casa del Fuego (2 beds, private bath — $1,750 per person -- SOLD OUT

Refund & Cancellation Policy

• All orders are subject to a non-refundable $500 deposit.
• Cancellations made prior to August 15, 2026 will receive a full refund after $500 deposit. 
  • Example: You pay $1,500 and cancel on August 13, you will receive a refund of $1,000.
• Cancellations made between August 15, 2026 and September 1, 2026 will receive a 50% refund after $500 deposit./
  • Example: You pay $1,500 and cancel on August 30, you will receive a refund of $500.
• Cancellations made after September 1, 2026 are non refundable.