our mission is to bring holistic healing and meaningful change
Lakeborn is a small, intentional retreat space offering guided ayahuasca ceremonies supported by thoughtful preparation, experienced facilitation, and integration-focused care.
Everything we offer is designed intentionally, with care for both the individual and the container as a whole.
Our work is informed by traditional Shipibo lineages and held with modern discernment. We prioritize safety, clarity, and responsibility at every stage of the process.
This is not about escape or spectacle.
It’s about presence, humility, and meaningful change.
Meet Our Compassionate Facilitators
retreats with discipline and compassion
Our team encompasses experienced professionals dedicated to your journey.
The execution of Lakeborn's work and mission is supported by a quiet network of caretakers, facilitators, and practitioners who share a commitment to safety, humility, and integrity; this includes chefs, yoga instructors, sound healers, massage therapists, facilitators, and shamans.
Cale Matchett
"my role at Lakeborn is to create and hold a safe, grounded container for deep inner work. I am not here to heal people or provide answers. I am here to support a process that requires care, preparation, and responsibility. That means clear expectations, honest conversations, and steady presence before, during, and after ceremony."
Cale is the founder of Lakeborn, a retreat and ceremonial space rooted in integrity, discernment, and respect for the depth of this work. His path into plant medicine has been shaped through years of personal commitment, traditional apprenticeship, and lived experience across multiple ceremonial contexts.
He has completed extended dietas in Peru and the U.S. and works in ongoing relationship with Amazonian teacher plants including bobinsana, huayanchi, huacanquillo, huayra caspi, iman piri piri, tanrillita, ajos quiero, and clavo huasca. His approach has also been informed by time spent with the Santo Daime tradition, the Yawanawa people of Brazil, and the Inga lineage of Colombia, giving his work a multicultural perspective grounded in humility and respect rather than appropriation.
Cale’s primary teacher is Maestro Gaspar Rengifo, a seventh-generation Shipibo healer from the Peruvian Amazon. While Gaspar does not lead every ceremony, his teachings and lineage deeply inform the ceremonial container at Lakeborn. Cale also works closely with his mentor Mark, who trained directly under Gaspar, reinforcing a lineage-based approach centered on patience, accountability, and reverence.
At Lakeborn, Cale keeps groups intentionally small and views ceremony as a process that includes preparation, screening, and post-ceremony integration. His role is not to act as a guru or authority, but as a grounded facilitator who helps create a safe, respectful environment for honest personal work.
Outside of ceremony, Cale is a father, entrepreneur, and lifelong student of human behavior, nervous system regulation, and relational dynamics. These lived roles shape his approach just as much as any plant or tradition. Lakeborn exists at the intersection of reverence and realism, honoring the sacred without losing sight of what it means to live fully human lives.
Maestro Gaspar
“My father taught me that my mission was to share the knowledge of my ancestors. Teaching the ancestral knowledge of the Shipibo— all who have studied with me are now teachers, but I am a firm believer that no one stops learning.”
Ceremonies at Lakeborn are anchored by Maestro Gaspar, a 7th-generation Shipibo healer from the Peruvian Amazon. Maestro Gaspar is known as a gatekeeper of the ancient medicine.
His role in Lakeborn's work is foundational. While he only leads approximately one ceremony per year with us, his guidance, standards, and teachings inform how this work is approached throughout the year.
Gaspar carries his lineage with sincerity and humility, grounded in traditional Shipibo medicine practices passed down through generations, including the use of icaros, plant knowledge, and ceremonial structure that emphasize precision, safety, and respect for the medicine.
Beyond his depth of experience, Gaspar brings a genuine warmth and lightness into the space. He has a very human, often playful presence, and many people remark on the calm and openness they feel simply being around him. This balance of seriousness and warmth creates a ceremonial environment that feels both contained and approachable.
Gaspar cares deeply about teaching, particularly supporting those who will go on to hold responsibility for others. His focus is not on volume or visibility, but on preserving the integrity of the tradition and the people entrusted to carry it forward.
Birth of LakeBorn
Creating powerful ceremonial spaces for deep inner work
Lakeborn came through lived experience rather than ideology. This work has required patience, discernment, and a willingness to slow down. Those values shape every retreat we host.
Owner Cale Matchett saw how powerful ceremonial spaces can be when they are held with integrity and how harmful they can become when they are rushed, romanticized, or poorly contained. Lakeborn grew out of a desire to offer something quieter, more intentional, and more accountable than what is commonly available.
Lakeborn strives to create and hold a safe, grounded container for deep inner work. We aim to support a process that requires care, preparation, and responsibility. That means clear expectations, honest conversations, and steady presence before, during, and after ceremony. Our work sits at the intersection of traditional plant medicine practices and modern psychological awareness. I take both seriously.
our spaces
Lakeborn retreat destinations in Atlanta, Georgia are tranquil environments is designed to foster relaxation and self-discovery.
Nature
Nurturing Surroundings for Healing
Comfort
The ambiance promotes deep connection and introspection.
Community
Lakeborn is built around small, intentional groups where people are seen as individuals, not numbers. We believe healing happens more naturally when people feel safe, supported, and held within a respectful container of shared experience.
Integrity
We take this work seriously. That means honoring tradition, setting clear boundaries, and staying honest about what this work can and cannot do. Integrity guides our choices, our pacing, and how we show up for every person who enters this space.
Respect
Respect begins with listening. To the people we serve, to the lineages that inform the work, and to the medicine itself. Every ceremony is approached with humility, consent, and care for the personal journey each individual is walking.
Transparency
We value clarity over mystique. From preparation and expectations to pricing and support, we aim to communicate openly and directly. Trust is built through honesty, not promises, and we are committed to meeting people exactly where they are.