The Kambo Frog

Kambo is the secretion from the Giant Green Monkey Tree Frog, also known as the Phyllomedusa Bicolor. Despite popular belief Kambo is NOT a poison, venom or toxin but a collection of peptides that our bodies have receptors for.

When done correctly the frogs are not harmed in any way when the Kambo is extracted from them. A deep relationship and bond is held between the frogs and the tribes who collect their excretion. The International Association of Kambo Practitioners works closely with the Matses tribe of Peru in order to ensure that the frogs are protected and the Kambo is harvested using sustainable methods.

The Kambo is collected and placed on a stick to dry. During a Kambo Ceremony the excretion is dampened with water and formed into small balls that will then be placed on the participants skin.

**Trina sources only ethically sourced Kambo from the Matses tribe. No frogs are harmed nor over-milked in the collection of Kambo and proceeds go back to the Matses to support their community and the continuation of safe practices with Kambo.

The Phyllomedusa Bicolor Frog is nocturnal and arboreal and due to the fact that it has no natural predators is found in abundance across the Upper Amazon rainforest areas of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela. The IUCN database continually lists them in the ‘Least Concern’ category in view of their wide distribution and large population. The only known threats to this species of frog at the moment are spawn predation and the potential destruction of their habitat.

They are large frogs, the male bodies being between 9-10 cm and the females 11-12cm. The dorsum is a vibrant green and the belly a creamy white. They have dark spots on the chest, flank and legs. Reproduction occurs throughout the year, peaking between November and May. They construct hanging nests from folded leaves 1-3 metres above ponds and streams. The females deposit a gelatinous mass containing their eggs into these nests. Theirs is the largest spawn found amongst arboreal frogs of the Amazon. A single spawn contains on average 1000 eggs from which tadpoles emerge within 11-14 days. No one is 100% certain what the catalyst for producing the secretion is, but it is widely believed to be sequestered from their diet. This is why the frogs do not produce their secretion when they are removed from their natural environment. (source: www.iakp.org)