Reconnection in the jungle

Reconnection with Elizabeth at the coffee plantation

We start our journey in Bahias de Huatulco.
The coffee plantation El Mamey is located in the middle of the jungle far away from everything….

Elizabeth’s grandfather, Alfred Mattern founded the plantation in the early thirties.
We stay at the house he built for his family.

Here in the middle of the jungle he started planting coffee and still the coffee trees grow in the shadow of the exuberant vegetation on the slopes of the southern sierra.

His granddaughter, Elizabeth Mattern Alcazar, works as a healer since nearly 20 years. She had a long journey to accept her gift. Her maternal grandmother was a “curandera”, a traditional Indigenous healer, she was Zapotec. Her paternal grandmother, also Indigenous, married Alfred, the German migrant who was Jehovah witness, so she was not allowed to practice curanderismo but she was the one who communicated with the elements in her daily life. She called the wind when she needed the wind to dry coffee or talked to the water when the family had to cross the river and the water was to high. When Elizabeth was 3 years old she ate a poisonous fruit and died.

The whole family started preparing her for the funeral, after hours she woke up again spitting out the fruit …. from there on she could see and hear things … she was connected to the world of spirit.

She was initiated by an old Zapotec healer who knew her since childhood and always predicted her that there will be a point in her life where she will have to accept her gift or she would die. She formed her own circle of healers, especially young women who are struggling with their gift. She has Indigenous blood but also European ancestors. This is why her way of working is very unique. She uses elements of traditional Indigenous healing but also ancient techniques we never seen with other traditional healers. She works with the elements: water, earth, fire and wind, often in ceremony and each of you have a private consultation with Elizabeth. It’s a very deep reconnection. – With water, performing a ritual cleansing in the river (the water helps you to get rid of emotional blockages). – With earth, absorbing negative energy and renewing. – With fire, in ceremony. Fire transformes …. It’s difficult to describe the work with Elizabeth, she’s deeply connected to spirit and working with her is always profound and transforming. Spirit is unpredictable, each journey is different but it’s beautiful, deep revelations are on their way. We work in group but you also have an individual consultation with Elizabeth.

Depending on our group size (not more than 13 people), rooms and toilets are shared. The house has been tastefully renovated and there are 7 double rooms available for visitors. It feels always like home, like coming back to a long lost family. Mathilde, Elizabeth’s mother, cooks for us …. delicious home made meals. In between our activities with Elizabeth, we go swimming in the river, walk through the jungle, make tamales together or we just rest in the beautiful hammocks of the terrace.

You feel like traveling back in a time long ago, your spirit remember and it’s so easy to connect with the elements, with your companions, no matter where you come from, no matter what language you speak.