About us

When experiencing our Cacao, you can trace the seeds back to a single Source.
This is the heart of our project.

Every product we share is traceable to a single origin. We source Cacao from three distinct regions– the Suchitepequez on the Pacific front, Alta Verapaz in central north Guatemala, and Izabal on the Caribbean front. We find isolated Mayan food forest communities that grow rare strains of Cacao. When they meet our criteria of quality (organic soils, fair wages to their workers, and agreement with our revitalization program), we invite them into the Cacao Source family. We do this instead of buying from enormous plantations or big distributing corporations, as many Cacao/chocolate businesses do.

When creating your ceremonial Cacao batch, we never mix the origins. Every Source has its distinct aromas, qualities, and story. We are building a bridge between cacao enthusiasts and the communities that cultivate and process medicine. We both inform Cacao lovers all over the world about the very precise origins, contexts, and identities behind their Cacao, but also let each farming community gain awareness about all the people they are sending the fruit of their labor to.

We care for the Source just as much as you do.

History

Cacao Source was founded in May 2019 by Jordan and Dorothy, two cacao enthusiasts who found reverence for Cacao through the rainforests. Based in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, Cacao Source is situated among the ancient Cacao groves. This is where our journey began.

A few months after the creation of the social business structure and identity, Laurence joined the adventure. With a background in social business and development, she was able to expand the project into the global community.

In 2023, we were joined by our fourth partner, Deborah-- a Guatemalan woman with a background in social work. Deborah has been organizing Operations and moving towards building greater support for the farming communities.

Our team has also been joined by Vick, a knowledge ecology guide who manages production; Chanelle, a radiant yogi who manages our customer relations; and Mariana, a poignant design expert and online strategist. Thanks to our expanding team, we have been able to achieve more on a daily basis.

During the first two years of the project, Cacao Source established fair and trustful relationships with 3 farming communities. We have spent many days connecting with each farming community, connecting on personal and practical levels, to make sure we are aligned to make our work together in the world. We now work with 5 different origins, each with a unique story that has furthered our mission to empower nature and its guardians.

We also created a blueprint for forming Kaq’chikel (Mayan) chocolatiers women’s collectives. Since then, we formed 7 groups in several San Marcos’s neighborhoods. Each collective has a leader who takes care of the main tasks and organization, and 5 to 10 helpers that work into the many aspects of artisan cacao production– mainly peeling. Each collective is sovereign and independent. In exchange for their honesty and communication, we offer them to work at their own pace they choose when and how much they want to work, then we pay by quantity produced.

Our Mission

Ethically producing and sharing cacao by rebuilding inclusive collaborations and ecosystems.

Vision

Be a force of regeneration through Cacao

Values

Responsibility

Radical responsibility is at the core of our values. It is expressed through our collaborations, work and actions. When we witness injustices, we create solutions to support a better future.

Inclusivity

Divserse and intercultural collabortions is key to Cacao Source. We include a broad diversity of people in the project to create a large community-- local and international-- all working towards a common vision.

Integrality

We create a business model that is total and complete, working towards closing every circle: financial, social and environmental.

Resilience

We work in difficult circumstances, social and environmental, and we stand strong as a team to go though the challenges. We always work towards bringing the bar of ethics higher in the Cacao industry.