Soul Lift Cacao is a social enterprise that exclusively sells cacao grown on small family farms in Latin America.
It's all non-GMO and grown without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
"Single source" in our model doesn't just mean a single country; it means a single farm or village. The map below shows where each cacao variety we carry is grown.
All the cacao is prepared into "paste" in small batches by historic cacao stewards in Guatemala and Mexico. This is different than a lot of products labeled "ceremonial cacao" that are actually made in foreign factories!
Whereas most cacao in the world passes through at least 10 hands from farm to consumer, what you buy from Soul Lift Cacao has passed through only 4 or 5 (e.g., farmer, collective, Soul Lift Cacao, customer).
That means more money stays at the source, with farmers who grow the cacao and collectives who prepare it into ceremonial paste.
Because the cacao is prepared into paste in the country where it grows, our model actually sends an average of 1700% the "fair trade" rate per pound back to the source country.
We think this is lot more equitable (even compared to models that pay 2x the "fair trade" rate) and truly has the power to turn around the exploitation that has happened and continues to happen in the chocolate industry.
Each type of cacao we carry is sourced directly from the group of artisans who make it, through real human relationships that we cultivate. They get a say in what we do, including our labels and packaging.
When buying ceremonial cacao, please make sure that you can trace the sourcing and that the originary people who made it have approved for that manner of sale. Unfortunately there are a lot of black market sales and unverifiable products on the Internet today.
Thank you for supporting Soul Lift Cacao's model of traceability and ethical direct trade. Below is the cacao farm map and more info about our specific sourcing partners.
*WANT TO MEET THE GROUPS WHO MAKE THE CACAO YOU LOVE? CONSIDER JOINING US ON A CACAO & CULTURE TOUR.
(CLICK MAP TO EXPAND)
RUK’U’X ULEW (pronounced “Roo-koosh Oo-lay-oo”) - partner since 2018:
Our longest running partner is a women’s collective in San Marcos la Laguna selects the best beans grown at a few native family farms in Alta Verapaz, and roasts the beans over a wood fire.
The women hand-peel the beans in groups, much like the community affair it has been throughout history. They pour intentions into it to be a "soul medicine" for the world.
This collective is owned by Cecilia Mendoza Chiyal, a Maya Kaqchikel woman.
The cacao is sold in our shop under the English translation, Heart of the Earth. You can find both the blocks and pre-ground paste here.
Photo below: Soul Lift Cacao founder Nick Meador with Cecilia, owner of the Ruk'u'x Ulew cacao collective.
LAVALOVE - partner since 2020:
Created by husband and wife duo Izaias Mendoza and Izabel Pérez in San Marcos la Laguna, Lavalove cacao is a blend sourced from small farms in one region on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
Many Maya Kaqchikel women in the village of San Marcos are employed in the production process. Lavalove goes above and beyond to ensure fair payment of workers.
The beans are selected, roasted, and peeled by hand, then ground and poured into blocks.
Izaias is also a Tata (spiritual leader) who hosts Mayan ceremonies to give people a direct experience of the local traditions.
You can find Lavalove cacao in our shop here.
Photo below: Nick with Izaias at the Lavalove shop in San Marcos la Laguna.
UTZ K'ASLEMAL (pronounced "Ootz Kahs-lay-mahl") - partner since 2022
Photo above: Ixquik (far left), her mother Rosalía (far right) and others using sacred tobacco in ceremony (photo by Enjoly Mar)
Utz K'aslemal – which roughly translates to "Good living in a useful existence" – is the trade name of a family from Sololá, just north of Lake Atitlán in the western Highlands of Guatemala.
Led by Ixquik (pronounced "Eesh-keek") Lopez Zavala and her mother Rosalía, the family has given Soul Lift Cacao the great honor of being the sole U.S. distributor of their cacao.
Their first offering was La Noche ceremonial cacao (available in blocks and pre-ground bags here). The name refers to the dark, roasty flavor, and an energy that's reminiscent of the night.
In 2023 we helped them release El Cielo cacao as well. It's actually one of the two origins that are blended in La Noche cacao. But El Cielo (Spanish for "the sky") has a lighter profile... almost tropical!
The family uses sacred tobacco in their ceremonies for divination and healing. Rosalía is also a respected midwife in their community who has reportedly delivered 3,000 babies.
And Ixquik is a different kind of community leader, helping to organize cacao farmers in the Alta Verapaz and Quiché regions of Guatemala so that they can stand up to the "coyotes." These are mob-like groups who try to pressure the family farms to sell their cacao at an unfairly low price.
By buying La Noche and El Cielo cacaos, you're directly supporting this movement to empower family farms!
Photo below: After a ceremony with Utz K'aslemal on our Guatemalan cacao tour in March 2023
MITLA CACAO - PARTNER SINCE 2023
Mitla cacao is grown in Chiapas, Mexico, near the town of Soconusco that has documented history of cacao cultivation going back at least 3,000 years.
After fermentation and drying, the seeds are taken to the eastern end of the Oaxaca valley, where a Zapotec indigenous group toasts, peels, and grinds the cacao.
Drinking chocolate is deeply ingrained into life in central Mexico, but these days it usually has more sugar than cacao. We're grateful that the group was willing to make a 100% cacao version for us, which is now a Soul Lift Cacao exclusive!
The cacao is named after Mitla archaeology site, which the Spanish renamed from the original Mictlán, the entry to the underworld.
We think the depth of history and mystery in this cacao is matched by the depth of flavor and energy!
Find Mitla cacao here
BETENA CACAO - PARTNER SINCE 2024
Betena is grown and prepared by BriBri and Cabecar indigenous peoples, who call their territory Ará. It span the border between southern Costa Rica and northern Panama.
The group has pre-Columbian history with cacao and it is interwoven into their Cosmovision. Betena means cheers in their language. They call cacao t'suru.
The cacao is toasted over wood fire (as shown by Qatia here), but that's where the similarities end with our other varieties. Instead of peeling by hand, they crush the seeds by rolling a large stone over them, and then blow the husks out with a fan.
Then they use a hand-crank grinder to break the nibs to a finer texture, so the cacao can be made into drinks.
Nick was honored to visit Ará in spring of 2024, and Soul Lift is thrilled to be the tribe's first American distributor of pure ceremonial cacao.
Find their cacao here
FIND ALL THE CACAO WE CARRY IN OUR ONLINE SHOP!
