A dream rooted in experience
Every origin story begins with pain and separation, and a vision that refuses to let it define us negatively.
In 2013, at the age of 28, our founder Charles D. Johnston traveled to a dingy house in Tijuana, Mexico for ibogaine treatment. After years of battling heroin and cocaine addiction, it was the first time since using heroin that he felt clear, and in just 72 hours. Ibogaine revealed his deepest wound of self-hatred and shame, and gave him clarity about his purpose, that he had to share this with others. In the depths of that medicine experience, a vision was subconsciously planted: to one day create a place where Ibogaine could be offered safely, legally, and within nature.
But that path wasn’t easy. Since his treatment, Charles would be a part of and help launch 6 separate Ibogaine projects in Mexico and Costa Rica. None lived up to his dream. Through each effort, the vision grew sharper: this work must be grounded in integrity, inclusivity, and deep respect for nature, the medicine traditions and the people it serves.
That same year, deep in the Amazon, Tatiana Aya Tupinambá was experiencing her first Ayahuasca ceremonies to heal her alcohol addiction but more importantly, her deep childhood trauma. A indigenous woman from Brazil and born in the jungle, Tatiana committed her life to learning from the plants and lineages that had helped her heal. She studied with the Ashaninka of Peru and the Yawanawá of Brazil. For over 13 years, she dreamt of building a psychedelic garden school to teach people how to live in right relationship with the plants.
Meanwhile in Brazil, medical professionals have been working since the early 1990s to bring Ibogaine into the medical system. Their persistence paid off: in 2016, Brazil became one of the first countries to allow prescription Ibogaine under physician care. With legislation evolving toward full medical integration, the door was finally open.
Together, we saw a rare opportunity: an ethical, partnership-based ibogaine program in Brazil with independent medical supervision, one where treatment becomes transformation, and overcoming addiction is not the end, but the beginning.
