Munay Sonqo Retreat and Yoga Center
Atmosphere
Features
💬 Guests Say
- Nurturing Space: Guests call it a “slice of paradise,” with one on Tripadvisor praising the staff’s care, organic food, and serene gardens for a soul-nourishing stay.
- Transformative Setting: Many highlight the Sacred Valley’s magic, noting on bookretreats.com the Apus mountains and waterfall created a “breathtaking” backdrop for yoga and healing.
- Communication Issues: Some report concerns, with a Tripadvisor reviewer citing poor handling of feedback, alleging mismanagement and lack of accountability after raising safety issues.
🚩 Incident Report
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Theft/Mismanagement: A 2024 Tripadvisor review alleges Munay Sonqo dismissed guest concerns about mismanagement, showing a “lack of accountability” and inadequate procedures for addressing safety and well-being, despite charging high fees for ancestral healing. This remains unverified without legal action or corroboration.
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Sexual Misconduct: There are no documented allegations, complaints, or legal actions against Munay Sonqo’s staff or facilitators in online discussions, news archives, or ICEERS resources.
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Crime: No evidence of police reports, arrests, or violent incidents associated with Munay Sonqo surfaced in Google News, Peruvian media, retreat forums, or ICEERS findings.
🔍 Critical Notes
The Munay Sonqo regenerative business model honors the three ethics of permaculture; earth care, people care, and fair share.
Through our Nonprofit Association, Sach’a Munay, we strive to be an example of a business model that gives back to the local community and the environment. Our business philosophy and vision sees us as a positive and empowering force within the community.
A large portion of our profits goes to support Sach’a Munay, to be able to benefit the local community and the environment. Sach’a Munay employs three full-time staff, and works with local schools and communities to offer education programs in organic agriculture, child nutrition to combat anemia, permaculture, and in issues facing local families. The organic farm provides high vibrational vegetables and herbs to our restaurant.
Brief History
Since 2015 we have been offering workshops in Agroecology and Permaculture for local farmers; we currently have more than 130 people enrolled in groups of 10 to 15 people.
We have an experimental field to develop regenerative farming techniques that honor the traditional methods and new regenerative agriculture techniques.
Currently we are experimenting with the local corn ‘Choclo’ that has been grown in the Sacred valley for hundreds of years, using a combination of clover cover crops, compost teas, and natural fertilizers. We are achieving great results. The aim is to develop a regenerative system of growing that does not rely on chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
Mission
We empower the local communities to return to the regenerative ways of living and production systems based on permaculture ethics and ancestral agriculture wisdom with special focus on children’s education, nutrition and safety.
Main actions:
-Offer workshops and dialogue between local farmers and the experts in biointensive agriculture and permaculture of Sacha Munay.
-Building educational programs in local schools to combat malnutrition and help educate about organic gardening and sustainable economic development.
-Use permaculture as an inspiring engine that honors the Andean cosmovision.
-Strengthen the capacities of high Andean villagers in good financial practices.
-Support the upbringing of children under 5 years old, in the communities through workshops focusing on family violence, gender equity, leadership, human rights, alcoholism and more.
Vision
To promote a society which values cultural diversity and honors indigenous wisdom by generating equitable, reciprocal, and thriving living systems.
The Sacred Valley of The Incas
The non-profit Sach’a Munay is present here in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, an hour from Cusco city. We chose this area because the soil here is incredible and mineral-rich. We are also utilizing the ancient Andean knowledge available here and rescuing it from negligence.
Our Team
MAURO ESCALANTE
PERMACULTURE EDUCATOR AND DIRECTOR OF SACH’A MUNAY
Mauro is the heart of Sach’a Munay, his passion and purpose impact all those he meets. He is our lead educator and teaches in both Spanish and Quechua. He has a long history in the non-profit sector and has studied the bio-intensive method of John Jevons, Permaculture, and the Regrarians platform.
He has been sharing his knowledge throughout the Sacred Valley and the highland communities for many years and is passionate about working with children, their schools, and their parents.
An amazing speaker, Mauro is in high demand for his ‘Escuela de Padres” workshops throughout the province of Cusco. His dream is to see the entire Sacred Valley region regenerate the soils and produce fully organic food to increase the well-being of people and the planet.
ADAM WOODMAN
PRESIDENT OF SACH’A MUNAY
One of the founding members, Adam has lived and worked in the Sacred Valley since 2014. After visiting Peru in 2010, he was inspired to return and share permaculture. Five years later his dream came true when he was invited to join Sach’a Munay to develop our school garden programs.
Adam holds a Bachelor of Horticulture (Burnley 2006), Permaculture design certificate (2007), Cert IV in Permaculture (2012), and has completed a 10 week internship with the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia (2011).
WILIAHANS CUCHILLO
PERMACULTURE EDUCATOR AND PROGRAM MANAGER OF SACH’A MUNAY
Wiliahans, is our manager responsible for programs and projects of social, economic and environmental development, he dialogues, coordinates and teaches in Spanish and Quechua to families and children about human development, tender parenting and child welfare. He has shared his knowledge throughout the Sacred Valley and the communities of the Calca Province and Cusco Region for many years. His dream is for the Sach’a Munay Association to be a leader in Human Development and Environmental Care through the Agroecological and Permaculture School in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Agronomist Engineer with specialization in Agricultural Production, Diploma in Human Development and Childhood and courses developed in Permaculture Designs and Bio Intensive Cultivation. He has a long trajectory in private and public institutions.
Partners and Alliances
Munay Sonqo Retreat and Yoga Center
Munay Sonqo is a sister organization and our primary financial support, donating a large portion of their profits to fund our programs every year. Our office and nursery is located adjacent to the retreat center, and our organic farm offers fresh produce to support the center’s restaurant, providing clean and healthy food to its guests.
Sach’a Munay has partnered with Munay Sonqo with the installation and demonstration of practical solutions to waste such as the waste water treatment reed beds, compost toilets, and composting of the center’s waste.
For more info please visit http://www.munaysonqo.com