Dia & CacaoAmor
'Cacao Sorceress' & 'Heart Opener'
Hola, my name is Día; bringing sunshine and warmth.
Like Cacao, I was born in Ecuador, and I am of mestizo heritage. I grew up drinking Cacao prepared by grandma in the mornings to give me the incentive to go to school, and in the evenings for a good night's sleep. Cacao was part of my daily life, yet it wasn't until I travelled to Palenque, Mexico, in 2012 that I learned about Cacao in ceremony.
I came to the UK in the early 2000s. I obtained a degree in film and photography, and spent the next few years living and working in London. During this time, I had a number of profound spiritual experiences and increasingly felt the call to pilgrimage. Not to any particular site or monument, but a pilgrimage of self, a journey inward as much as outward. In 2012, during the media frenzy about the ‘end’ of the Mayan calendar, I was drawn to return to Abya Yala (Latin America). I travelled to Mexico, where I happened across Gustavo & Paola Ik from ‘Kakaw Sana’ who were hosting a Cacao ceremony.
At the time, I had been documenting my travels, and although reluctant at first, spirit gave a “yes” and they agreed that I could record the ceremony. You can find the edited video here and learn about them on their website. In this 4-hour Cacao Ceremony, we shared, we sang, and at some point after drinking, it felt as if my heart energetically blossomed open. It felt like my heart burst open, filled with love, light and connection. I felt a clear connection between my mind and my heart, fully within myself, filled with and somatically inerstanding what unconditional love is.
My first experiences with Cacao in ceremony…
“I felt the spirit of Cacao blessing me and healing my heart.”
I spent weeks after the Ceremony integrating and more time working on the footage I had filmed.
As I edited the footage, I felt a strong call to work with Cacao, yet I wasn’t sure how. This question was answered after sending the final edit to Paola and Gustavo; they loved it and asked if I would be interested in visiting them, collaborating and perhaps learning more about Cacao and ceremony. I learned so much in my time with them, sharing their home, their wisdom and sitting in ceremony. For weeks, I delved deeper into the medicinal and ceremonial powers of Cacao and sowed the first seeds of ‘CacaoAmor’.
Six months later, through a dream received by medicine woman Gina LaVerde in the magical land of Joshua Tree, California…
I was asked to facilitate a Cacao Activation at a gathering. The intention was to heal the land's feminine energy. This was the first of many ceremonies that came to me: I would arrive at a place, then be asked to facilitate. For some time, I responded to Cacao's call this way, until I fully accepted the responsibility that Cacao had chosen me and I her, as an ally to spread joy and love in the world.
I have been sharing Cacao in ceremony all over the world, in many collaborations and diverse ways.
Cacao helps facilitate human connection, embodiment practices, sound-healing journeys, breathwork, yoga, meditation, somatic and sexual empowerment workshops, to name a few. Depending on the intention and the collective needs of the group, and guided by the Spirit of Cacao, each ceremony is unique.
After 5 years of sharing Cacao in ceremony and growing increasingly more aware of the struggles faced by Cacao, I was inspired to do more.
Seeking to help the lands and people of Ecuador, CacaoAmor’s first ceremonial paste blocks were made in 2018. Committed to respecting and honouring the Earth and Cacao’s natural environment, supporting sustainable agriculture and finding ways to help farmers and their families to flourish. Our aim is to keep alive traditional cultivation methods and to preserve ancient varieties of Cacao, as well as the ecosystems they support.
Cacao farmers do not receive adequate compensation for their hard work. It seems that big chocolate corporations, and to an extent consumers, care little about the lives of those who farm this magical tree, let alone about preserving ancient varieties in the natural habitat where they originated. When I founded CacaoAmor, I made a promise to always be conscious of where the Cacao I work with comes from and how those involved in its cultivation are treated.
My journey into becoming a Cacao alchemist…
As the demand for quality fair trade heirloom Cacao rises, so do the challenges faced by the communities.
In an attempt to help preserve Cacao, given our small-batch import, we focus our efforts on areas where we can make a meaningful difference, compared with the industry of chocolate. As such, we work with three family-run and own farms. These three remote farms grow Cacao trees in their natural habitat, surrounded by many other trees and plants and under the protection of the jungle’s canopy. These farms have been hit by a range of environmental factors. They used to have at least four good harvests a year; now they have one or two at most. Our goal is to support these farms in developing in harmony with nature and, in turn, to import larger quantities of Cacao at a time, making the most of their good harvest.
We are establishing ‘In Cacao We Trust’ a fund to provide resources in support of the farmers and the land.
A percentage of every package of CacaoAmor sold goes towards helping create more sustainable conditions for the farmers and the trees, whilst benefiting consumers with top-quality Cacao.
Furthermore, we teach the women on the farms how to ferment and dry the Cacao beans themselves, meaning they receive better rates for their Cacao, which travels directly from the farms to our chocolate laboratory to be lightly toasted and stone-ground into our signature ceremonial paste.
CacaoAmor is committed to respecting and honouring the natural environment through sustainable agriculture, supporting family-owned farms to flourish. Keeping alive traditional methods and preserving ancient varieties of Cacao, as well as an ecosystem of many other plants, trees, and creatures living with the Cacao trees. Gracias for your support!