Good questions.

No. NAWA is for people whose nervous system has been running flat out for too long. Some are struggling with alcohol or drugs. Plenty aren’t. They’ve lived non-stop lives, built a lot, carried a lot, and want the chance to stop and reconnect with themselves. Read our philosophy.

Yes. Some of the people we speak to have ten or twenty years of sobriety behind them. Stopping was the start. NAWA is a place to do the deeper work that comes after it.

No. Life on the island runs on lived-experience peer support: people who have been through it themselves. Over years of working in addiction, we’ve seen what a difference that makes. Alongside it, you have therapy and a clinical team, who meet with you online. Any clinical decisions are made by those independently licensed practitioners, not by the programme itself.

Yes. You’ll have your phone between sessions and access to a laptop. We know the people who come here have work and families that don’t stop for a month, and the programme is built with that in mind. There’s strong 4G across the island.

Yes. Take them in the privacy of your own room, or book one of the quiet spaces set aside for calls.

If you have a physical dependency, yes. Detox isn’t provided on the island, so it needs to be completed before you travel. You arrive medically stable and ready to begin.

Bring it with you. If it’s easier, it can be prescribed in Indonesia after an online consultation with our psychiatrist. Either way, we make sure you have everything you need for the full month.

You have your own room and your own space for the whole four weeks. There’s also a gym and an ice bath.

No. The Mentawai Islands have waves for every level, from your first time on a board upwards, and you’ll be with top surf instructors who keep you safe the whole time. Surfing is always optional.

Four people at most. That’s the whole group.

Completely. Four people, a small team, a remote island. There’s no public record of who attends, no other guests, and no reason for anyone to know you were there.

Fly to Padang in West Sumatra. From there, one of the team meets you at the airport and travels with you by ferry and private boat to the island. More about the island.

No. We arrange the visa for you, so there’s nothing to worry about before you fly.