Co-founder and CEO, Runa

Hollywood a-lister Channing Tatum is famous for starring in numerous blockbusters from comedy drama Magic Mike to the action-packed White House Down. But people in the spa industry will be more interested to hear about his work with Tyler Gage and his role in championing a native healing centre deep in the Amazon rainforest.

Gage is the co-founder and CEO of organic, ‘clean energy’ tea company Runa which sources gauyusa, its key ingredient, from indigenous families such as the Sápara in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Tatum is a brand ambassador and investor in the company.

The Sápara think of the Amazon as a living pharmacy and over the centuries have built up a profound knowledge of the rainforest’s trees and plants, many of which could help in the search of cures for chronic illnesses such as cancer. Talking on YouTube Tatum says: “The people who live in the rainforest hold the key to unlocking the Amazon’s healing potential. But destruction of the rainforest has forced the Sápara and other Amazonian people to the brink of extinction. A civilisation’s worth of medical knowledge could disappear right along with them.”

Recently, Tatum has teamed up with Gage and the Runa Foundation to launch an initiative to help create new value for the tropical forests that benefits local people. Opening in mid-2016, the Naku healing centre will see scientists working alongside native healers to highlight the efficacy of traditional treatments and ingredients.

“We’ll have patients from all over the world suffering from a variety of illnesses already described by western doctors,” says Gage. “The Sápara healers will do their own diagnostic before patients go through the Amazonian healing process.

“We’ll record not only physical but also psychological and wellbeing data, and track their progress for improvement or change. This will lay the foundation for further phytochemical studies and clinical trials.”

The healing centre, located deep in the jungle, is inspired by Sápara building techniques and utilises the latest in ecological design. It will have eight rooms where patients will be given a course of treatments including whole plant remedies, diet guidelines and dream and sleep therapies that the Sápara have used for centuries.

“There’s no phone or internet service at Naku, giving patients the opportunity to disconnect from hectic daily schedules and focus on their personal healing and wellness,” says Gage. “To begin with, all visitors receive a traditional cleansing, or limpieza, to clear out all of the negative energies that we bring from the outside. Cleansing is performed throughout, using a mix of medicinal plant baths, tobacco, herbal saunas and other rituals.”

As the Sápara use such a vast variety of medicinal plants – they have knowledge of more than 500 – Gage says it’s hard to say exactly what direction the treatments will take after that. He explains: “Since Amazonian medicine recognises illnesses as having different causal pathways than western medicine, each person must go through a unique diagnostic process.

“For example, 10 patients suffering from what a western doctor calls Alzhiemer’s, could be seen by the Sápara as 10 different illnesses, each with a distinct cause and a different treatment to be undergone.”

While the healing centre is yet to open, the Naku community has already hosted nearly 200 visitors in the past two years – including Tatum – on a cultural immersion programme. Guests become part of the Sápara community, staying in traditional indigenous lodges and learning about the tribe and the rainforest that they’ve inhabited for hundreds of years.

“Channing loved it,” says Gage. “He hit it off amazingly with the Sápara people and was instantly motivated to help them to turn their vision of Naku into a reality.

“He’s is down to earth, easy going and super creative and working with him has helped us to build awareness and support for Naku.”

One of the most important things people take away from their Naku experience is how reconnecting with nature and community can help with wellbeing and this is something spas could learn from says Gage. “Spa owners already know that it’s important for people to take a break from the rigours of their stress daily lives,” he says, “but being able to have a meaningful cultural experience at the same time enables people to learn about how to be well all of the time, not just when they’re on vacation.”

In addition to Naku, Gage is also working on a similar project in Peru with the indigenous Shipibo people. The Rios Nete healing and research centre is due to open in late 2016.

Gage adds that the spa sector could get involved with such projects in the future. “There’s for potential for collaboration with the spa industry in projects like Naku, as indigenous communities often lack the expertise and human resources to create successful businesses... The spa industry would be a welcome partner in helping us create sustainable hospitality businesses in the Amazon.”