celebrate circular culture
COEUR_age
The world of chocolate seems to be falling apart at the seams: large international corporations are popping up in the Amazon, marking the top dog, buying sustainably produced superfood for double and triple the price, while the small and fine manufacturers are losing out.
Don’t we all want large corporations to be involved in ecological processes in a way that is true to life? Don’t we all want the international giants to work more sustainably?
Don’t we all long for the melting pot of economy and ecology?
From the innermost desires or mentally, as if viewed from far away in the cosmos, one would actually have to say that the economy of the chocolate world is currently taking a forward-looking ecological direction.
The chocolate industry is very closely linked to the coffee world, both economically and politically. You can currently find huge imprints on the packaging of major Swiss companies – see picture below.
LOOKING FORWARD: What about this coffee and cocoa sourcing is actually sustainable and responsible? Don’t let yourself be manipulated by dull slogans!
Ángel has spent the past few weeks on site with Peruvian cocoa farming families. The lessons learned are enormous and sometimes frightening: We now know that the large corporations are not in the region themselves. They work through organizations that have already offered the farmers high prices and an advance payment in 2022 and 2023 before the actual harvest. On the surface, double and triple prices are “RESPONSIBLE” considerations. On closer inspection, these are quite simply manipulative practices: the surprisingly high income was welcome for the farming families, and investments were made immediately (cocoa trees need to be renewed every 6-10 years. The house and grounds also need attention). It is also important to note that it has already been announced that prices will fall massively again in 1-2 years. But then the farming families will no longer be free to choose who they sell their produce to … … the harvest they had already paid for later turned out to be much scarcer than expected due to drought. As a result, some farming families have now fallen into debt and become dependent on the large western corporations (or their operating organizations in the region). However, the large corporations are only interested in the fact that they generally pay very fair prices and that the coffee they sell in the West, as well as old resistant cocoa varieties, are no longer from monocultures and plantations, but from originally sustainable cultivation.
All the small producers who have invested in this sustainable cultivation for years are now losing out. Oops!!!
Do we want ecological progress at any price?
This is a political newsletter – but not only! In the areas of politics and business, too, the question is becoming increasingly urgent: Is it still possible to politicize and do business purely on the basis of reason?
Bold approaches are more in demand than ever for holistic change!
Ángel & Aline decided not to increase the number of cognitive meetings. Instead, Angel has held cacao ceremonies with the producers and farming families. What in the past was mainly celebrated in rituals, retreats and seminars is now being applied in the middle of everyday business life via COEUR_age.
MEDITATION = GATEWAY TO WISDOM
Meditation is anything but efficient. But it is the holistic practice of bringing the mind into an observational focus, thereby letting go of all strategic knowledge and worldly stories, experiencing oneself compassionately and being receptive to wisdom. By meditating in the midst of business, we begin to make wise decisions from the heart and act in an interconnected way.
For example, Ángel & Aline go into the forest at night, sit down by the small pond and meditate there, their eyes fixed on the surface of the water where the night sky is reflected. In this setting, the feminine quality goes into the presence of the fullness of all possibilities (sense of possibility is activated) and the masculine quality empties itself completely (openness to completely new forms is activated). In this combination of feminine and masculine presence, visions and the wisdom for the next steps appear. Thus, in this challenging cacao world, SONQO dares this peaceful practice to do courageous “business”. Ángel has now been on the ground in the jungle for some time, making Cacao Ceremonies with producers and farming families. We don’t need to keep discussing and negotiating if we can’t connect as equals in our hearts.
THE RETREAT IN EVERYDAY LIFE
How do we treat nature and the AMAZ_ONAS?
Is our treatment of nature AMAZ_ING? Perhaps Ángel & Aline’s COEUR_age will soon bear unexpected fruit – trust that great happiness can arise from misfortune. SONQO is committed to ecological SYNTROPIC JUNGLE CARE projects. But what this situation makes abundantly clear is that ecology cannot be thought of and planned separately from social aspects. We are all involved in these highly complex cycles of ME (individual), WE (social) and KOSMOS (ecology).
