Bridging Indigenous Wisdom & Western Knowledge
Through sacred ceremonies, wellness gatherings, conscious conversations, and sustainable initiatives, we create meaningful experiences that bring people together — nurturing belonging, growth, and shared transformation. At the heart of our work is a bridge between Western knowledge and Indigenous wisdom, honouring both science and spirit as we walk the path of healing together.
Welcome to Obsidiana
A community rooted in the transformative power of connection,
cultural healing, and collective well-being
“Love's kingdom came, I came to be, the kingdom of eternity”
― Rumi
Ceremonies & Teaching-Focused Retreats
Guided by Indigenous educators and rooted in ancestral wisdom, our retreats are more than just reflection – they provide immersive experiences to absorb teachings, traditions, and tools that have passed down through generations. In partnership with our allies, we create sacred spaces for Western seekers to explore and learn Indigenous ways of knowing, healing, and existing.
Obsicast – Conscious Conversations
Obsidance – Ecstatic Dance
Connection through the transformative power of cacao and saffron ceremonies and ecstatic dance. Obsidance offers immersive experiences that celebrate music, movement and healing through indigenous rituals and modern expression.
Meet the Team
Rana Rahimpour
Executive Director
Rana Rahimpour, traditionally named Emmaa, is a co-founder of Obsidiana — a counsellor, psychedelic therapist, and seasoned broadcaster and journalist.
Her journey began in Iran, where she spent the first 25 years of her life before moving to the UK in 2008 to join the BBC as a reporter and presenter. After nearly 15 years in journalism, Rana left the BBC in 2023 to retrain as a psychedelic therapist with the British Transpersonal Association (BTA).
Feeling called to go deeper, she attended an ayahuasca ceremony led by Mano Camon, where she asked him to accept her as a student. Her search for ancestral knowledge later led her to Ecuador, where she was initiated by Hilarop Chiriap of the Shuar Nation in the Amazon.
Bringing her journalistic skills into her healing path, Rana launched Obsicast — a podcast dedicated to conscious conversations on psychedelics, mental health, the nature of consciousness and beyond.
Jennifer Ogole, OBE
Director of Vision & Strategy
Jennifer is the founder and CEO of BANG, a UK-based organisation with a global reach, known for creating platforms that support young people to lead, build, and sustain strong communities. Over the past 25 years, she has launched social enterprises, developed international partnerships across Jamaica and Nigeria, and led pioneering programmes in media, leadership, and youth development. She is also the founder of VITAL, a global initiative that fosters cultural exchange and indigenous connections rooted in creative and community practice."
Jennifer’s introduction to plant medicine over a decade ago deepened her personal and professional journey. She comes from a lineage of healers—her great-grandmother was a medicine woman in Uganda—and the power of the medicine has had a lasting influence on her life and leadership.
She values culture and heritage deeply, and works to uplift these through her leadership, partnerships, and practice. Her work sits at the intersection of spirituality, social innovation, and community impact. She is guided by the understanding that we are one being—and that being is spirit. For Jennifer, the only power is love, and the mission is to live and lead from that truth.
Mano Camon
Director of Traditional Medicine and Teachings
Mano Camon, traditionally named Churuwia, is a co-founder of Obsidiana.
A traditional medicine man of Mexican and European descent, Mano is renowned for his expertise in shamanic healing and traditional medicine practices.
He has been recognised as a traditional doctor by COFEMITES, GAIPREM, and by Dr.hc Hilario Chiriap, of the Shuar Nation of Ecuador.
With a profound understanding of plant medicine and ancestral traditions, Mano specializes in leading transformative healing ceremonies, retreats and teachings.
Mano is the founder of Ayamtai, a center dedicated to these diverse cultural and traditional medicine practices.
Camilla dos Santos
Head of Holistic Health & Nutrition
Born and raised in Southern Africa, Camilla was immersed in nature’s vitality from an early age — a grounding that continues to inform her deeply intuitive and earth-based healing work. Her approach bridges functional medicine, ancestral wisdom, and somatic ceremony, offering a truly integrative path of transformation.
Camilla’s wellness journey is rooted in Ayurvedic medicine, refined through an apprenticeship with Michele Po in Portugal, and further deepened through studies with Ecuadorean shaman Rocio Alarcón, focusing on abdominal and pelvic healing. She has also been influenced by herbalist Daisy Mae, naturopath João Beles, and is a member of the Functional Medicine Institute. Since 2020, she has led the Coach House Wellness Spa at Beaverbrook, where she offers Functional Naturopathic Counselling, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), and holistic healing journeys incorporating breathwork, cacao, and sound.
Within Obsidiana, Camilla is the master of our Obsidance ceremonies, where she guides participants through powerful journeys of movement, cacao, and embodied ritual. Her ceremonies weave the sacred with the sensual, offering space for deep release, joy, and reconnection to the body.
She is also a regular expert guest on Obsicast, where she shares her insights on holistic healing, feminine energy, and ancestral practices. Following a recent shamanic initiation in Ecuador, Camilla continues to bridge South American traditions with Western approaches to healing — walking a path of integration, reverence, and transformation.
Henry Hayden
Head of Operations & Products
Henry / Etsa grew up on the South coast of England near Brighton.
The son of two intrepid terranauts, he was raised with stories of his parents motorcycle adventures while circumnavigating the Earth and the lessons they learned from cultures all over the world. This led to a fascination with travel and the ways in which other people live, ultimately resulting in him studying Anthropology at University in London.
It was while studying at University that Henry began to feel the call of shamanic plant medicines and the traditions who work with them. This resulted in his first significant step onto the shamanic path in 2016 when he spent time in Peru working with Ayahuasca and learning with the Shipibo tribe. This was a life-changing experience and prompted a swift return to University with a reinvigorated mission of seeking to bring more ancient indigenous wisdom into the academic arena.
While studying his Masters in Medical Anthropology, Henry wrote his dissertation investigating the therapeutic applications of Ayahuasca and the journey one takes to become a healer within the Shipibo tradition.
Since University, Henry has been continuing to walk the shamanic path alongside his jobs working with children and supporting adults with learning disabilities. He has also been assisting with both the organisation and running of ceremonies while learning with his teachers Mano, Dez, and Hilario; and has spent time in Ecuador with the Shuar tribe completing two Waterfall/Medicine retreats.
Derrick Ogole
Head of Digital Marketing & Strategy
Derrick is a digital strategist with a focus on storytelling, brand clarity, and intentional communication. As Head of Digital Strategy & Marketing at Obsidiana, he ensures the organisation’s message is clearly and consistently expressed across all digital channels—capturing both its purpose and presence. He supports mission-driven brands in shaping their narrative, building value-led digital ecosystems, and connecting authentically with their audiences.
In addition to his role at Obsidiana, Derrick also leads digital strategy and marketing at BANG—an organisation that works closely with young people to design and deliver impactful, youth-led initiatives.
He is also the creator of Stacks—an initiative that helps young people develop financial literacy, leadership, and entrepreneurship skills through youth-led activities.
Esther Boot
Ceremonial Musician & Space Holder
Esther is a breathworker, bodyworker, and yoga practitioner whose path gently unfolded into the world of sacred ceremony. What began as a journey through the body and breath evolved into a deep calling to hold space through sound. Today, she is known as a medicine musician—something that arrived unexpectedly, as she once lived with few words and many silences.
Through years of deep listening and devotion, Esther discovered the power of music as a healing force. When she sings, it is as if something greater sings through her—an unseen current of strength, tenderness, joy, and prayer. Her music is woven from the subtle threads of the sacred, carrying the vibration of remembrance.
Her main inspiration flows from the ceremonies she has been part of for many years, as well as from her time with the Yawanawá people of the Amazon. Immersed in their prayers, songs, and way of life, she carries their teachings with profound gratitude. Like many within the Obsidiana circle, she received a powerful initiation under the sacred waterfalls of Ecuador.
Esther believes music is medicine—a carrier of love, hope, and strength. Her voice invites connection: to self, to others, and to the great mystery that holds us all. Though based in the Netherlands, she frequently travels to the UK to support ceremonies as both a facilitator and musician, offering her presence in devotion and humility.