Beatriz Caiuby Labate was born in São Paulo in 1971. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social science from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in 1996. In 2000 she obtained a master’s degree in social anthropology from the same university, receiving the Prize for Best Master’s Thesis from the National Association for Graduate Studies in Social Science (ANPOCS). Her doctoral research in social anthropology at UNICAMP focuses on the internationalization of Peruvian ayahuasca “vegetalismo.” She is co-editor of the books O uso ritual da ayahuasca (Mercado de Letras 2002, 2004 2º ed.), O uso ritual das plantas de poder (Mercado de Letras, 2005), Drogas e cultura: novas perspectivas (Edufba 2008), Ayahuasca y Salud (Los Libros de La Liebre de Marzo, in press) and co-editor of the special edition Light from the Forest: The Ritual Use of Ayahuasca in Brazil (Journal Fieldwork in Religion 2.3, 2006 - published in 2008), author of the book A reinvenção do uso da ayahuasca nos centros urbanos (Mercado de Letras, 2004), co-author of the book Religiões ayahuasqueiras: um balanço bibliográfico (Mercado de Letras, 2008) and Ayahuasca Religions: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Critical Essays (MAPS, in press). She is a researcher with the Nucleus for Interdisciplinary Studies of Psychoactives (NEIP) and editor of its site (www.neip.info).
Currently she works as an independent writer, consultant, lecturer and organizer of scientific conferences and cultural events related to the field of drugs, xamanism and religion. She is also a blogger and an anti-prohibitionist activist.
In 1998 she bought the Alto das Estrelas ranch, in Pedra Branca, Caldas in Minas Gerais state. It hosts part of her writings, as well as public and private events promoted by her. It is also an experimental site for the cultivation of plants and their future ethnobotanical study.
Personal and Professional Objectives
To promote anthropological publications about the use of psychoactive substances.
There are five books and one journal special edition already published and three books in process at the moment.
To promote interdisciplinary research on psychoactive plants, trying to create a dialogue among different areas of research.
To promote inquiry, reflection and discussion, from an ethical and political position opposed to the prevailing international prohibitionist regime. This anti-prohibitionist approach is fundamental for a better understanding and use of psychoactive substances, as well as dealing with eventual problems related to their consumption.
To promote the free diffusion of scientific knowledge on psychoactive plants and their uses. To disseminate information, arrange meetings and congresses bringing together leading experts and promote discussions of different approaches to research and spiritual inquiry based on psychoactive plants (see main events).
To provide up-to-date news about this universe for a community of interested people on the topic, creating a space for exchange of information and knowledge. It is hoped that this helps strengthen the local and internal forms of “cultural controls”, considered to be more effective than external, legal and repressive forms of controls.
To give more visibility to the South American intellectual production and political activism to the English speaking world.
To act as a kind of ayahuasca observation post or “watch”, invaluable in a time of persecution for the use of ayahuasca in many countries.
To give pubic lectures in courses for health practitioners dealing with substance dependence offering new approaches to the phenomenon of “drug use” from a social science perspective and with an anti-prohibitionist orientation.
To grow a range of sacramental plants. There is currently a plantation of Banisteriopsis caapi vines, Psychotria viridis bushes, and some plants used in the Peruvian ayahuasca vegetalismo for special medicinal purposes. The Alto das Estrelas garden is both related to its etnobothanical studies and the ecological awareness of the need to replenish and expand ayahuasca plantations in the world.
To investigate and compare different traditional forms of cooking ayahuasca. To research the preparation of other healing and sacred plants and to promote a dialogue between scientists, shamans and religious practitioners on these matters.
To be a consultant-participant in formal government meetings discussing the process of elaborating the scope of the legalization of ayahuasca in Brazil and abroad.
To assist several independent ayahuasca groups (including indigenous, mestizo and urban) allowing them to perform their activities and helps to promote a culture of exchange and dialogue among important ayahuasca leaders in Brazil and abroad.
To assist practitioners of the Brazilian ayahuasca religions and individual indigenous or mestizo shamans in Europe and North-America who had legal difficulties due to prohibitionist laws, providing them with scientific information and networking (see consultancy).
To provide specialist advice and consultancy for journalists, media reports, documentaries and films about psychoactive plants and their use.
(*)
I wish to thank Débora Gabrich for the design and construction of this website and Miguel Peixoto for homing it and providing its maintenance; José Murilo Jr. for the internet consultation; Matthew Meyer, Andrea Hernandez and above all Brian Anderson for the translation and revision of some texts to English; Egidio Pandolfo for making and editing some pictures; Roberto Goulart for the design of the logo of the site, and Ezequiel Karpf for suggestions on it.
I would like to thank also all my collaborators for their generous support, specially my colleagues of NEIP and all the co-editors, co-authors and authors; Editora Mercado de Letras for a great last longing cooperation; Rick Harlow for donating the rights to reproduce 3 of his paintings which appear on the cover of the books A Reinvenção do Uso da Ayahuasca nos centros urbanos and Religiões Ayahuasqueiras: um balanço bibliográfico as well as the cover of the DVD Ayahuasca: Videos, Entrevistas e Reportagens; Alexandre Segrégio for the cover of the book O Uso Ritual da Ayahuasca and Ernesto Boccara for the cover of the book O Uso Ritual das Plantas de Poder.
I would also like to thank Renato Sztutman, Stelio Marras, Mauricío Fiore, Denizar Missawa Camurça, Moacir Biondo, Christiane Costa, Adriana Calabi, Ilana Goldstein for their constant encouragement, several intellectual exchanges, and warm friendship. And Ricardo Pereira for his help in taking care of the ranch Alto das Estrelas and our 10 years together having fun around there.
Finally, my special gratitude to donors who in part, make this work possible.
