When we headed off to Costa Rica I couldn't contain my excitement to be near the source for cacao. I have been tasting cacao and experimenting with cacao ceremonies in our women's circles during the last year, and I was eager to learn more. All the information I had found on the internet yielded little in the way of history or tradition. Sure, cacao ceremonies are trendy and you can participate in ceremonies in person or online almost anytime. The ceremonies are flexible, and although they seem to have a spiritual flair, most are not based on any kind of ancient tradition.
So we planned our trip to stop at the Rainforest Chocolate Tour in La Fortuna, and we were not disappointed. The staff were incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and generous with their cacao! We learned incredibly important information from our guide about the origins of cacao and the current "dark side" of cacao. I want to share a little of what I learned here.
Cacao originated in Brazil, but was first used in Equador. The natives there believed that it was dropped by the God's. Cacao was used only in ceremony and was not to be prepared by any male, or children. Only the mother's of the tribe could prepare cacao for ceremony. The name of cacao was translated as "bitter" because they did not use any sweetener in the preparation until much later when Cortez "discovered" cacao and the ancient peoples of Central America. They did use what they had - vanilla, water & chili peppers.
Little evidence is shared about the traditional ceremonies that the native peoples of Central America use for this plant medicine, but we can use the connection with the fruit, the earth and humanity to create ceremonies with meaning. With the freedom to create our own ceremonies, we are allowed to be non-denominational. We can use cacao's health benefits to awaken our spirit and manifest in our lives. During ceremony, we recognize the heart opening properties of cacao and use them to develop a close connection to the community and to ourselves.
Cacao is full of theobromine and anandamide, two chemical compounds that increase oxygen in the bloodstream and create a feeling of bliss. Anandamide was discovered by scientists in xx and is called the "bliss" molecule. It is named after the Sanskrit word Ananda, or bliss. It attaches to receptors in the heart, brain and other parts of the human body that are also activated during meditation. Theobromine is a mild stimulant and is abundant in cacao. It widens the blood vessels, facilitating an increase of oxygen in the blood stream. What a beautiful combination and a medicine to help us drop deeper into self-awareness.
The majority of cacao is now produced in North Africa, and especially in the Ivory Coast. It is grown for and purchased by large, international companies like Nestle & Hersheys. A recent 2021 study found that over 1.6 million children between the ages of 6 - 12 years old are working in the most deplorable conditions on the cacao farms. The children work 12+ hours per day - and make $1/month on average. My heart sank when I learned this bit of information. I haven't had a Snickers in years, mostly because I am conscious of what I put in my body and I wholly believed them to be full of poisons, but to think that those large companies make profits off the slave labor of children...I haven't been able to stop thinking about that fact since. And I feel it is incredibly important to share it with whomever I can. A link to this information is here.
"The following is an excerpt from a study conducted by the Corporate Accountability Lab on the failure of initiatives in the chocolate industry like certifications:
In order to understand the gap between consumer perception and farmer impact better, we brought certified chocolate bars to villages where some or all farmers were certified. We held up the bar with the label, and explained to the farmers what consumers expected out of the label (primarily that farmers were paid a fair price, earned a decent living, and certain practices—like child labor and deforestation—were not present). We also explained the difference in retail price between Fairtrade and uncertified chocolate.
The overwhelming response of farmers to this information was shock and outrage. One farmer pulled his worn shirt out in front of him and asked if it looked like he earned a decent living. A woman in one village said she could hardly afford to send her children to school, so how could anyone think she earned a fair price. Our farmer consultations revealed virtually imperceptible differences between certified and uncertified farms in terms of living incomes, poverty, education, access to healthcare, farmer bargaining power, or access to information."
How important it is to know the source of your cacao, but there is not guarantees that your chocolate is cruelty free. This is a sad reality. For me, I believe it becomes more important for me to source the cacao from a small organic farm that is transparent in it's practices. I know what a big ask this is. But as humans, we can ask ourselves to be more aware & compassionate in our everyday choices.
Comments