Indigenous Midwifery Retreat

In addition to the online course, you can join us by traveling to South Africa to immerse yourself in the knowledge, practices, and ceremonies of Indigenous midwives in their homes. Travel to South Africa, a land of diverse cultures and spiritual practices, to immerse yourself in the knowledge of Indigenous midwives in their healing huts and ceremonial spaces.

The aim of the tour is to unlearn, learn, recover, and preserve sacred birthing knowledge. We spend a day or two with several midwives who come from different cultures in South Africa. We visit midwives in the Northern Cape and North-West provinces to learn about the rituals and ceremonies of Basarwa and Batswana people. From there we travel to Afrika Ikalafe bush camp for a night of drumming, dance, and fireside chats.

We proceed to Limpopo province, towards the border of Zimbabwe, to immerse ourselves in the Venda and Sepedi cultures. During our stay in Limpopo, we will have a chance to experience divination/healing consultations with Indigenous healers. From Limpopo we proceed to Mpumalanga province on the eastern side of South Africa towards Mozambique to immerse ourselves in the cultural practices of Mapulana and Swazi people. The tour ends with a ritual in a cave as a symbol of a return to the womb of the earth.

Accommodation will be either be provided by lodges which are closer to the midwives or in a form of tented accommodation in the midwives’ backyards. This gives us an opportunity to participate in their rituals, accompany them to the bush to learn about herbs, and many other learning activities which the midwives will prepare for us.

Transportation includes airport pickups as well as travel from one province to the other. Other than deepening our knowledge of Indigenous midwifery in South Africa, participating in the tour creates income opportunities for rural based midwives, their families, and communities.

• Feb 9th to 20th
• March 9th to 20th
• April 6th to 17th
• Aug 4th to 14th
• Sept 1st to 12th
• Oct 12st to 12th

• 4 months payment plan available
• Includes airport pick-ups, travel from one province to another, accommodation in country lodges, meals, Indigenousn midwifery workshops and participation in rituals ceremonies for 12 days.
• It does not include airfare to South Africa. If you are in South Africa, cost does not include road transportation to our first meeting point. Health and travel insurance is also not included.