Courage is good
celebrate circular culture
COEUR_age
The chocolate world seems to be falling apart: large international corporations are appearing in the middle of the Amazon, claiming dominance, buying the sustainably produced superfood for double and triple the price, while the small and exquisite manufacturers are left out in the cold.
Don't we all want large corporations to be actively involved in ecological processes? Don't we all want these international giants to operate more sustainably?
Don't we all yearn for the melting pot of economy and ecology?
From one's innermost desires, or viewed mentally from afar, from the cosmos, one would actually have to say that the chocolate industry is currently taking pioneering ecological directions.
The chocolate industry is very closely linked to the coffee world, both economically and politically. Currently, you can find huge prints on the packaging of major Swiss corporations – see image below.
ATTENTION: What aspects of this coffee and cacao sourcing are truly sustainable and responsible? Don't be manipulated by empty slogans!
Ángel spent the last few weeks on location with Peruvian cacao farming families. The lessons learned are enormous and, in some cases, shocking: So we now know that the large corporations are not directly located in the region. They operate through organizations that offered farmers high prices and advance payments as early as 2022 and 2023, before the actual harvest. On the surface, these prices appear to be double or triple the usual amount. "RESPONSIBLE" Considerations. On closer inspection, these are simply manipulative practices: the surprisingly high income was welcome for the farming families, and they immediately invested it (cacao trees need to be replaced every 6-10 years. The house and grounds also require attention). It's also important to note that it has already been announced that prices will drop significantly again in 1-2 years. Then, however, the farming families will no longer be able to freely choose to whom they sell their products…
…the harvest, which had already been paid for, was later much smaller than expected due to drought. As a result, some farming families have fallen into debt and dependence on large Western corporations (or their operational organizations in the region). However, these corporations are only interested in the fact that they generally pay very fair prices and that their coffee and old, resistant cacao varieties sold in the West no longer come from monocultures and plantations, but from originally sustainable cultivation.
All those small producers who invested in sustainable farming for years are now left empty-handed. Oops!
Do we want ecological progress at any price?
This is a political newsletter – but not only that! In the fields of politics and economics, the question is becoming increasingly urgent: Is it still possible to conduct politics and business purely on rational grounds?
For holistic change, bold approaches are more in demand than ever!
So Ángel & Aline decided not to increase the number of cognitively focused meetings. Instead, Angel conducted cacao ceremonies with the producers and farming families. What was previously celebrated primarily in rituals, retreats, and seminars, we now apply via COEUR_age right in the middle of everyday business life.
MEDITATION = GATE OF WISDOM
Meditation is anything but efficient. Yet it is the holistic practice for guiding the mind into an observant focus, thereby completely letting go of all strategic knowledge and worldly narratives, experiencing oneself with compassion, and becoming receptive to wisdom. Through meditative presence in the midst of business, we begin to make wise decisions from the heart and to act in an interconnected way.
For example, Ángel and Aline go into the woods at night, sit by the small pond, and meditate there, their eyes fixed on the water's surface where the night sky is reflected. In this setting, the feminine quality enters into the presence of the abundance of all possibilities (the sense of possibility is activated), and the masculine quality empties completely (openness to entirely new forms is activated). In this combination of feminine and masculine presence, visions and the wisdom for next steps emerge.
In this challenging cacao world, SONQO is venturing into this peaceful practice to conduct courageous business. Ángel has spent an extended period of time in the jungle, conducting cacao ceremonies with producers and farming families. There's no point in discussing and negotiating further if we can't connect on an equal footing.
RETREAT IN EVERYDAY LIFE
How do we treat nature and the AMAZ _ONAS?
Is our relationship with nature AMAZ _ING?
Perhaps the COEUR_age From Ángel & Aline, unexpected fruits will soon emerge – trust that great happiness can arise from misfortune. SONQO is committed to ecological SYNTROPIC JUNGLE CARE projects. But what this situation clearly demonstrates is that ecology cannot be conceived and planned separately from social aspects. We are all integrated into these highly complex cycles of ME (individual), WE (social), and KOSMOS (ecology).