Today is Indigenous Peoples Day, which brings to the forefront of collective awareness our steadfast honoring of the presence, perseverance, sacrifice, wisdom, and beauty of Indigenous Peoples all over the world.
We explore the indigenous inheritance of cacao, some practical ways you can honor the intentions of this day throughout your life, and how Ora Cacao’s mission supports repairing colonial inheritances of relationship with land and peoples.
Continue reading to dive deeper!
Celebrating the Indigenous Lineage of Cacao
We are deeply grateful to the Indigenous peoples who recognized the sacredness of cacao and tended this relationship - including the Mayan, Aztec, Olmec, Toltec, and Marañon peoples.
Cacao is used by these Indigenous peoples in many different ways including: celebration, rites of passage, currency, a pre-hunting tonic, spirit and heart connection, and more. When we drink cacao, we are connected and indebted to this Indigenous lineage of peoples and the land where it came from. One way to honor this connection is by learning about the peoples and lands where your cacao comes from.
Put Into Practice: Next time you prepare a cup of cacao, research the landscape and culture of the peoples from where it originates. (We share quite a bit about the culture and land of each cacao on the product pages on our website, so that is a great place to start!) As you drink, consider what you’ve learned, offer your gratitudes, and meditate with the spirit of cacao to carry you to these places and peoples to connect more deeply.
Learn More: In our Cacao Foundations course we explore the ancestral indigenous practices of cacao in more depth. Learn more at the link below.
Learn More in our Cacao 101 Course here.
Honoring Land
Another step you can take towards honoring indigenous legacies is familiarizing yourself with the native territory names of the land you are upon. You can learn the indigenous territory identifications through the Native Land resource here.
Put Into Practice: At the start of your cacao rituals, invoke with gratitude the native territory you are residing upon and offer your first sip of cacao to the land.
Indigenous Wisdom of Relationship with Plant Spirits
We can honor the wisdom of Indigenous peoples by tending to our relationships with our other-than-human allies, such as the cacao tree and other plant allies. When we connect in a personal way with a plant spirit we are connected to the thread of Indigenous wisdom that reminds us that we are not alone, that we are surrounded by allies, and that there is medicine for us in the plants.
Put Into Practice: Have a check in with your own relationship with cacao, much like you might with a loved one. Consider how you met, what gifts or challenges you have received from the relationship, and how you might like to nurture the relationship going forward. While in meditation with cacao, ask her how she might like to be woven into your life and what she might desire in return. Listen with curiosity to what inspirations you might receive - such as singing to your cacao, placing a cup on your altar, sharing cacao with others, or connecting more deeply with any of the Indigenous linenages of cacao.
From Extraction To Reciprocity & Right-Relationship
An important part of our relationship with cacao is acknowledging the legacy of extraction, commodification, and oppression in the home regions of cacao in Latin America. Whereas the old paradigm devastated the lands and the peoples for the profit of a few outside colonizers, we are committed to re-writing that narrative to one of reciprocity and right-relationship.
We only source from organic, regenerative agroforestry cacao farms in order to increase the biodiversity of the land and provide symbiotic habitats for other food crops to grow, which feeds the community. Our direct sourcing, ethical trade model means that we pay above market prices to provide good incomes for the farmers, many of whom are Indigenous families.
Put Into Practice: If our mission inspires you and you’d like to pay it forward to our beloved farmers who tend the trees, which sprout the fruit that becomes the cacao in your cup, consider donating to the Farmer Climate Resiliency Fund. One hundred percent of proceeds go to the farmers. Earlier this year we were able to send a $5,000 donation to the Belize farmers impacted by recent wildfires, thanks to all your contributions.
Of course, we can’t erase the painful history of colonization. But we can create a new model for the future that recognizes cacao as sacred medicine and stewards cacao with integrity across the supply chain, honoring the earth, the people who grow our cacao, and the cultures it comes from in gratitude.
