A Thread Between Worlds

Next Gathering · Sierra Nevada · Colombia · 23-27 November 2026

ÚNA weaves ancestral cultures and contemporary thought into immersive experiences that give more than they take. Rooted in reciprocity and led by Indigenous women, we create encounters that strengthen cultural continuity, restore relationships with the living world, and inspire a global community to lead with greater care, responsibility, and connection.

Vol I · 2026

From the Heart of the World

A scene from a ÚNA gathering in the Sierra Nevada

It takes a spiral to build something reciprocal. Across generations, the Elder Brothers and Elder Sisters of the Arhuaco, Wiwa, Kogui, and Kankuamo Peoples have stewarded La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, or Gunawindua — the highest coastal mountain range on Earth and one of the planet's most bioculturally diverse territories. Known as the 'Heart of the World', this is where balance is sustained, and the wellbeing of La Sierra is inseparable from the wellbeing of all life.

As a thread between worlds, ÚNA, meaning one or united, co-curates and co-leads culturally immersive gatherings in direct kinship with this territory and its guardians. Here, trust and care are common language. Our gatherings invite new ways of relating to ourselves, one another, and the living world, creating a space where personal growth meets collective impact. Rippling far beyond the time we spend together.

Continued in About

The Cycle

To give more than we take

Every ÚNA gathering moves through a spiral, from immersion, to kinship, to transformation, and back to the land as care.

Immersion

A five day cultural and Nature immersion. An encounter between worlds. Arriving into ancestral land welcomed by Indigenous Elders, leaders, and knowledge holders who guide the journey throughout.

Growth

To unlearn patterns. To embrace discomfort as a teacher. To cultivate more harmonious relationships with Nature and each other.

Kinship

A relationship is woven between people and land. Through dialogue, cultural exchange and co-creation, a circle of fifteen becomes one, we become ÚNA.

Impact

The land and community is left in better condition than found. Women's houses, medicinal gardens, seedbanks, water systems that strengthen Indigenous sovereignty.

The Experience

Why Now

At a time of accelerating climate instability, biodiversity loss, and a growing crisis of mental health and social disconnection, the need for more balanced ways of living and relating has never been greater. While the world searches for new solutions, some of the most enduring knowledge systems have quietly sustained people, place, and community for millennia.

Indigenous Peoples, who comprise around 6 percent of the global population, steward approximately 80 percent of the world's remaining biodiversity. In 2022, UNESCO recognised the Ancestral System of Knowledge of the Arhuaco, Kankuamo, Kogui, and Wiwa Peoples of La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, acknowledging a living tradition that continues to offer profound ecological, cultural, and spiritual insight for our shared future.

The Experience

Cultural & Ecological Immersion

Surrounded by the quiet majesty of La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta or Gunawindua, where glacier fed rivers meet the Caribbean Sea and one of the world's richest biocultural landscapes unfolds, we gather to slow down, listen, and learn together through shared dialogue, restorative practices, and cultural exchange. Participants are invited to observe with humility, ask thoughtful questions, and contribute their own perspectives.

The Experience

Who This Is For

This gathering is for those who are curious enough to listen before they speak, open enough to question what they know, and courageous enough to imagine different ways of living, leading, and creating. For those who feel called to reconnect with the living world, learn from Indigenous knowledge systems, and explore how ancestral wisdom might inform the future. For those who arrive with humility, embrace complexity over certainty, and understand that the most meaningful and profound exchanges begin by listening.

If you're looking for a wellness retreat, psychedelic experiences, or easy answers, this gathering may not be for you.

The Experience

Roots That Remain

Reciprocity is not only what participants receive. It's what we leave behind. Every gathering is co-created with Indigenous partners and contributes directly to community-led projects, from women's houses and medicinal gardens to seed banks, water systems, and shared spaces for future generations. These encounters also plant something less tangible but equally enduring: relationships of trust. They invite Indigenous communities to expand a global circle of allies, while offering the opportunity to walk alongside those who have cared for the 'Heart of the World' for generations.

Participants also become part of a carefully curated global community who share a commitment to shaping more regenerative futures through mutual support. People leave with a renewed sense of belonging to a global network of people committed to living, leading, and creating in service of something larger than themselves.

Next Gatherings

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

23-27 November 2026

Un espacio para reconectar contigo misma.

Voices · Testimonies

"There are places in the world that invite us to show up differently. Not with our expertise or answers, but with an open heart and willingness to move beyond what we know or even believe."

"Indigenous leadership is a lived practice, not a theory."

"Like weaving, this work is slow. It is deliberate. It resists urgency."

Pat Mitchell · Sierra Nevada, March 2026

"Intention and thought are not preparation for the work. It is the work itself."

"I came as a leader. I left as a Younger Sister."

Participant · Sierra Nevada, March 2026

Previous Gatherings