About
Iván Sawyer García
Guide, documentary photographer and host of Alma Nómade. I live in Tepoztlán, Morelos, where I was born.
Mexico and Kenya
Two homes before my teens
I was born in the valley of Tepoztlán. When I was eight, my family moved to Kenya, where my father worked with rural communities on access to drinking water and sanitation.
Africa showed me the strength of its cultures and, up close, the weight of poverty.
Tepoztlán
Back home
In my early teens I came back to Tepoztlán, the valley where I was born. At 15 I stood for the first time in Huautla, in Oaxaca's Sierra Mazateca.
I studied sustainable and community tourism at the Universidad Veracruzana and, from 2006, guided small groups through Mexico and Central America.
On the road
Learning from the communities
In 2010 I joined the Council of Visions, Guardians of the Earth.
I have exchanged with and learned from communities and peoples in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. Their elders taught me to see my own privilege and to use it as an ally.
Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca
In short
- Tepoztlán
Born in the valley of Tepoztlán, Morelos.
- Age 8
Moved with my family to Kenya.
- Early teens
Back in Tepoztlán. At 15, my first time in Huautla, in Oaxaca's Sierra Mazateca.
- 2002 to 2006
Studied sustainable and community tourism at the Universidad Veracruzana.
- From 2006
Guided small groups through Mexico and Central America.
- 2010
Joined the Council of Visions, Guardians of the Earth.
- Today
Documentary photographer, founder of Voices of Amerikua and host of Alma Nómade.
Alma Nómade
Why I started it
I want to be a bridge between the ancient and the modern, in service and celebration of our one Mother, Planet Earth.
Alma Nómade is how I do that with travelers: small groups, hosted by the communities, and a guide with years of relationships among them.
How I work
Guests, and witnesses
I guide every journey myself, in English and Spanish. Every journey follows the protocol of the community that hosts it.
Journeys do not include ceremonies with sacred plants or mushrooms. In vigils, visitors accompany and witness. They do not take an active part. I do not publish personal details of my hosts or photos of people without their consent. Journeys are cultural trips and do not replace medical care.
Tell me what you have in mind
+52 55 3191 4302Instagram @ivankuxansumLinkedIn