As Robin Wall Kimmerer shares in Braiding Sweetgrass, when it comes to foraging, the Indigenous practice is to take only what is needed, and never take more than half of what is available. When this practice is not followed, we run the risk of “loving to extinction” (Kimmerer, 2013). This brings up an interesting point, because loving something to extinction begs the question: are we really loving it at all?

We often use love to express our own personal desires; saying, “I love chocolate,” typically does not mean you want the best for that chocolate bar, but means you enjoy eating chocolate. So, if we are “loving to extinction,” could this be an indicator that we must reassess our understanding of what love is?

Think of your sweet grandmother cooking you a hot pot of her special soup on a day when you’re feeling down. This generous, loving gesture immediately makes you feel better. You would probably say you love her soup.

So, would you force your grandmother to continue to produce more soup? Even when she is exhausted, depleted, and running out of resources, would you force her to keep going - for personal gain?

Or, would you take the warm, comforting, love-infused cup of soup and return the offering with hugs, kisses, and an immense amount of gratitude? Not asking for more, but simply sitting in gratitude for the gift that has been given - and then offering something in return.

Reciprocity.

You receive love, you give love. You give love, you receive love. 

There is no greediness, no exploitation or capitalization, no hidden agenda, just pure reciprocity.

Cacao is your grandmother. She will care for you, she will hold your hand and walk you through the most tumultuous times. But, when you get overwhelmed, she will welcome you with open arms and offer you a warm place to rest. How do we show our gratitude? We return the love. We care for her in the way she cares for us.

This may seem like an odd comparison, but the harsh reality is that our beloved cacao has been on a journey of exploitation to the point of depletion, and it is our turn to take care of her. At our source farm, Dalileo Cacao, a regenerative agroforestry system is used as a way of acknowledging her wants, needs, and desires, reciprocating the care she provides us with.

For far too long, conventional farming methods have been used in order to produce maximum yields of cacao in the shortest amount of time possible. These methods use fertilizers, pesticides, and other resource inputs while ignoring the natural biodiverse needs of the soil and crops (Corwin & Scudiero, 2019). Agroforestry, however, is a land use management system in which trees are grown around or among other crops so as to mimic agroecology systems in thriving environments (USDA, 2022).

Agroecology, similarly, is a science that studies ecological processes within agricultural production systems, which results in improved nutrient and carbon cycling, decreased soil erosion, biodiverse habitats, and natural protection from pest, disease, and weed outbreaks (Wojtkowski, 2019). In other words, it provides the soil, cacao, and all living beings with the nourishment to thrive.

A mission of One World Cacao is to ensure that mama cacao is being cared for; when love goes in, love comes out, and this reciprocity can be felt with each sip.

References

Corwin, D. L., & Scudiero, E. (2019). Conventional Farming - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. Sciencedirect.com. 

USDA. (2022). Agroforestry Practices | USDA National Agroforestry Center. Www.fs.usda.gov. https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/practices/index.shtml

Wojtkowski, P. (2019) Agroecology: Simplified and Explained, Springer, 420p.