17 DE SEPT—NVITAMOS A MUJERES DE TODO EL MUNDO A REUNIRSE EN UN ESPACIO HÍBRIDO EN LÍNEA - VIRTUAL (SOLO EL PRIMER DÍA). ÚNETE A UN ENCUENTRO CERCA DE TI O SOLICITA SER ANFITRIONA.
SEPT 17 — THE WOC SUMMIT INVITES WOMEN WORLD-WIDE TO GATHER IN A HYBRID ONLINE - VIRTUAL SPACE (DAY ONE ONLY). FIND A LOCAL GATHERING NEAR YOU OR APPLY HOST YOUR OWN
FIND A HOST NEAR YOU
ÚNETE A UN ENCUENTRO CERCA DE TI
SEPT 17 2026
DIA UNO | DAY ONE
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Maze Cacao — Mexico City, México
Julie Scalune — Sutton, Quebec, Canada
Diana Dos Santos — San Antonio, Texas, USA
KK Wootton — Los Angeles, California, USA
Maritere Juan — Las Piedras, Puerto Rico
Mariana Garza Sánchez — Monterrey, Nuevo León, México
Jessica Schugardt — Visalia, California, USA
Christina Montano — Blue Hill, Maine, USA
Erin Andrews — Seattle, Washington, USA
Kaysee Hill — Savannah, Georgia, USA or Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Giulia Garofalo — Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Jenny Maria Checo Vargas — Rio Grande Abajo, Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Alejandra Hernandez — Chicago, Illinois, USA
Leoansy Merlen — Oaxaca, México
Sarah Bharath — Trinidad & Tobago
Phyona Flowers — Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Kathia Mariell Porog López / Keila Merari Sanchez Doria — Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Lindsey Glasson — Commerce, Michigan, USA
Altair Rodríguez Grullón — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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Giovi Arzamendia-Hecht — Asunción, Paraguay
Beatrix Cacau — Paraty / São Paulo, Brazil
Nadine Wendt de Oliveira — Campinas, Brazil
Sophie Zurita Moscoso — Quito, Ecuador
Johanna Suárez Montejo — Filandia, Quindío, Colombia
Valentina Velasquez — Bogotá, Colombia
Marjorie Franco Litardo — El Empalme, Guayas, Ecuador
Carolina Lescure — Bocas del Toro, Panamá (Central America, but often grouped with Latin America)
Gabriela Alejandra Collaguazo Guachamin — Quito, Ecuador
Andrea Salazar Acero — Armenia, Quindío, Colombia
Lucimara Rett — Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Raisa Torres — Chone / Ricaurte, Ecuador
Tais Joi Pontes — Brasília, Brazil
Francisca Herrera Alemán - Pucon, Chile
Yasmin de Sá - São Paulo, Brazil
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Elina Neiberga — Riga, Latvia
Elisa Parriciatu — Olbia, Italy
Heike Bitterle — Munich, Germany
Gyöngyvér Pécel — Pécs, Hungary
Lisa Allen — Paris, France
Shirley Espinoza — Milan, Italy
Frédérique Herpin — Massy, France
Liora Omer — Cork, Ireland
Emily Sierra Melo — Milan, Italy
Mónica Alejandra Deras — Luz, Lagos, Portugal
Layla Levy — Annecy, France
Ortensia Sayre — Rome, Italy
Franziska Hein — Aschaffenburg, Germany.
Orietta Huaman - Milan, Italia
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Angela Gordon — Yeppoon, Australia
Claudia Nastsha — Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Carolina Lacovino - Sydney, Australia
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Carolyn Chittilappilly — Bangalore, India
Angeleah Montilde — Thailand
Kavitha Narayanankutty - Kochi, Kerala, India
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Essone — Ghana
INTERESTING IN BECOMING A HOST?
BECOME A WOC HOST // Sé una anfitriona woc
**Applying does not guarantee selection. Please contact us for access to our training process and a few simple requirements of being a host: Contact@womenofcacao.com
La postulación no garantiza la selección. Contáctanos para obtener detalles sobre la capacitación, proceso de selección y los requisitos para ser anfitrión: Contact@womenofcacao.com
HOST BIOS
Carolyn Chittilappilly is an Indian wellbeing consultant and yoga educator with more than 20 years of practice and more than a decade of teaching experience. She has lead retreats and experiences in Peru, South Africa, different parts of Europe, Bali and India. Her retreats include yoga practices, breathwork, cacao ceremonies, art and movement therapy.
Bangalore, India
Julie Scalune is the founder of Holistika, a Québec-based cacao company and collective devoted to connection, creativity, and ancestral wisdom. For over 8 years, she has worked with ethically sourced cacao from Guatemala, honoring the plant as a teacher and bridge between cultures. Her path is rooted in a deep relationship with the Earth, shaped by years of travel, study, and work with plant medicines and traditional practices. Guided by this journey, Julie creates transformative spaces weaving together music, storytelling, and heart-centered rituals. Through Holistika, she facilitates ceremonies, intimate containers, and annual retreats in Guatemala, inviting people to reconnect with themselves, community, and the living wisdom of the traditions she carries forward.
Instagram: @juliescalune & @holistikacacao
Sutton, Quebec, Canada
Giovi Arzamendia-Hecht is a Plant Medicine and Microdosing Facilitator, Organizational Psychologist, Breathwork Instructor and Yoga teacher in progress
Ins
Instagram: lateralia_ / sanaterra.py
Asunción, Paraguay
Beatrixis Cacau a cacao specialist with over 10 years of experience working with cacao and chocolate. She has traveled internationally throughout the Americas, sharing knowledge on cacao culture and traditions. With nine years of hands-on experience growing cacao and producing chocolate from bean to bar, she brings both practical and cultural expertise. She serves as a coordinator of the Slow Food Cacao and Chocolate network in Brazil and is the founder of Cacao Ancestral.
Instagram: Cacauancestral
Paraty/São Paulo- Brazil
Diana Dos Santos es madre, esposa, guardiana de espacios ceremoniales y tejedora de comunidad con base en San Antonio, Texas, nacida y criada en México. Su trabajo busca restaurar una relación profunda y reverente con el cacao como medicina viva, planta ancestral y puente hacia la conexión, la memoria y la hermandad entre mujeres.
A través de ceremonias, círculos y encuentros, Diana crea espacios donde las mujeres pueden reconectar consigo mismas, entre ellas y con la sabiduría de la Tierra. Su acercamiento al cacao nace del aprendizaje, la humildad y el respeto por las tierras, tradiciones y comunidades indígenas que resguardan esta medicina.
En el centro de su trabajo está la idea de que el cacao ayuda a regresar a la sabiduría del corazón, creando espacios de escucha, conexión, crecimiento y reciprocidad. Mantiene relaciones directas con maestras, maestros y fuentes de comunidades indígenas en Guatemala y México, honrando sus linajes y contextos culturales.
En San Antonio, Diana cultiva una comunidad creciente de mujeres y facilitadoras que buscan una relación auténtica y enraizada con el cacao. A través de talleres y encuentros, comparte prácticas éticas e invita a cada persona a desarrollar su propia relación con esta medicina, promoviendo la responsabilidad, la transparencia y el respeto por quienes han protegido estas tradiciones a lo largo del tiempo.
Instagram: goddess.heart.satx
San Antonio, TX - United States
Heike Bitterle is the founder of illumina cacao, a brand that brings Chuncho cacao to Germany. Her focus is on women's health + creativity with cacao.
Instagram: illumina.cacao
Munich, Germany
Gyöngyvér Péceli is passionate about cacao and chocolate as a tool for connection, self-discovery, and conscious living. Through her previous chocolate manufacturing brand, Asvini Chocolate Feeling, and the new project Pearls of Asvini, she creates small-group cacao experiences in Hungary, where people can explore cacao as a ritual and reconnect with themselves and others. She focuses now on cacao research while also organizing chocolate tastings alongside her cacao work. She is especially interested in Peruvian cacao traditions, and this year she will travel to Peru for a study journey to deepen her knowledge.
Instagram: Pearls of Asvini
Pécs - Hungary
KK Wootton is a writer and associate marriage and family therapist. She has a degrees from New York University (BFA, dramatic writing), University of Southern California (master of professional writing), and Pacifica Graduate Institute (master of counseling psychology). She has studied cacao with Indigenous spiritual leaders in Guatemala and has been working with cacao for about 4 years. Her graduate psychology thesis was: Working with Cacao as a Sacred Plant Medicine in a Modern Therapeutic Context. She also writes fiction and has published creative nonfiction in the anthology “They're At It Again”, published by Grove Press.
Los Angeles, CA, United States
American by birth, Lisa Allen has been developing her craft and business in Paris as a pastry chef, chocolatier, chocolate sommelier and educator since moving there in 2016. She earned her French Pastry diploma from Ferrandi and has immersed herself in cacao and fine chocolate since making chocolates by hand in Zurich in 2010. Her passion for cacao and its potential began with her first visit to the cacao fields of Chuao, Venezuela, in 2016.
She studied Bean to Bar with Chloe Doutre Roussel and is a Level 2 Certified Chocolate Taster with the IICCT, judging for the Academy of Chocolate in London since 2019 and the International Chocolate Awards since 2025. She is passionate about sharing the true journey and potential of cacao with consumers and tourists in Paris and beyond, encouraging choices that support craft chocolate, small farmers, the land, and a more sustainable and respectful global market.
Before moving to Paris, she spent 15 years as an Arts Educator in New York City and internationally in Taiwan, Switzerland, Argentina and Venezuela. She is also passionate about music, dance, yoga and photography, and is the mother of a beautiful daughter who will turn five in 2026.
Instagram: tartsntruffles
Paris, France
Shirley Espinoza is originally from Costa Rica and currently based in Milan, Italy. With a background in dentistry, her work is rooted in holistic well-being, bridging science, ancestral traditions, and embodied practices. Her connection with cacao began through working with indigenous communities in Costa Rica, where the plant was part of everyday life and cultural expression. Over time, this relationship evolved into a more intentional path, guiding me to explore cacao through personal experience, observation, and a deep inner process. Over the years, she has been deeply inspired by different teachings and practices that cultivate connection with the body, breath, and presence. This has led her to create spaces where people can reconnect with themselves, and with nature in a simple and authentic way.
Instagram: holis_tica_
Milano, Italia
Frédérique Herpin: Directora de gestión 20 años, chocolatologue y chocolatera desde 6 años y bean to bar desde agosto 2025
Instagram: basilicetcacao_paris
Angela Maree - Gentle Guide to Spirit. Devoted to Guiding women back to their bodies through cacao, breathwork, and the wisdom of the Earth, holding grounded spaces for deep release, reconnection, and remembrance.
Yeppoon, Australia
Maritere Juan is a litigation attorney with over 30 years of experience and a career of more than two decades in the culinary industry in her country, where she has founded a restaurant, a goat farm, and a goat cheese production facility. Driven by her passion for healthy living and a holistic vision, five years ago she discovered a deep connection with cacao as a superfood and medicinal plant. Since then, she has trained in cacao and chocolate across countries such as Peru, Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica, and the Netherlands, and holds an advanced international certification as a chocolate taster. She is currently developing her cacao farm in Puerto Rico and leads Alquimia Cacao, a pure drinking chocolate crafted with nutritional intention and ceremonial-grade quality—bringing together origin, health, and ancestral wisdom into a single, meaningful cacao experience
Instagram: alquimia.cacao / asaviachocolate
Las Piedras, Puerto Rico
Ortensia Sayre is a performance and ritual artist and researcher of Sacred and Shamanic Art. Her multidisciplinary practice moves between performance, video art, writing, directing and visual arts, with sacred and ritual performance at its heart—exploring body, mind, spirit and soul as one creative path toward transformation.
Her research combines shamanic, oracular, esoteric and subtle-energy practices. Through journeys in the Sacred Valley of Peru, she discovered Cacao Medicine as a guide and teacher, helping her connect art, love, and vital, sexual, creative and sacred energy.
In 2024, together with Sarah Paroletti, teacher of Azul Conscious Movement, she created Cacao Azul in Italy: a contemporary ritual combining native Peruvian Cacao Medicine with Azul Conscious Movement dance. Through in-person and online events, they invite people to reconnect with the body, open the heart and awaken their energy.
https://www.ortensiasayremacioci.it
Instagram: ortensia.sayre / cacaoazul.ceremony
Rome, Italy
Orietta Huaman: Psicoterapeuta Gestalt esperta de crecimiento personal con prácticas ancestrales andinas
Instagram: Essenza andina
Milan, Italia
Mariana Garza Sánchez: Anteriormente gerente de producción de Cuna de Piedra y chocolate maker por 7 años. Mi labor profesional actual integra la formación de nuevos talentos en gastronomía con la consultoría técnica especializada en el movimiento Bean to Bar. Como experta en análisis sensorial y desarrollo de productos, me enfoco en el diseño de experiencias que conecten la técnica profesional con el deleite del consumidor, especializándome en perfiles de sabor y la optimización de procesos en confitería. Mi misión es fusionar la ingeniería de alimentos con el arte de la chocolatería para fortalecer la cadena de valor del cacao, impulsando proyectos que honren el origen del grano y la precisión de la chocolatería moderna.
Instagram: mariana.garzas
Monterrey/ Nuevo León + México
Liora Omer is a chocolate engineer and founder of Home Chocolat. Her mission is simple: make working with chocolate accessible to everyone. With 15+ years in R&D and a background in product strategy, she built Home Chocolat around two complementary products. CocoaBlox is a patented modular ingredient system, think Lego for chocolate, that lets anyone formulate their own chocolate without industrial processing. The Chocolatier Pro is a smart countertop appliance that automates tempering, works with any chocolate, and keeps chocolate in working condition for hours. A Kickstarter campaign for the machine raised over €63K, with 170+ units pre-sold to backers across 26 countries. Based in Cork, Ireland, Liora is on a mission to open up the world of chocolate creation to makers at every level
Instagram: home.chocolat/
Cork, Ireland
Emily Sierra Melo: Registered dietitian, energy healing practitioner, and facilitator devoted to restoring the relationship between humans, nourishment, and the Earth. Her work weaves science, ancestral wisdom, and spirituality through therapeutic nutrition, ceremonial cacao, and plant medicine, specially flowers. Trained in Guatemala and connected with Mayan cosmovision, she aligns her work with nature and the energy of each day. As the founder of ANT for humans and FLORA for humans, Emily creates experiences, products, and spaces that support deep nourishment, regeneration, and connection.
Instagram: emilyforhumans
Milan, Italy
Elina Neiberga is a cacao facilitator from Latvia, Europe. Her connection with cacao started as a journey through the ceremonial plant studies where she met cacao in its depth and it has been her companion ever since. During hard times of her life cacao medicine was something that made her take brave decisions and follow her path instead of staying where it's stable and comfortable, she faced her biggest fears and overcame them with the help of cacao medicine. This is something when you know you cannot unknow anymore"
Instagram: _sparklingyou_
Riga + Latvia
Everyone calls me MazeCacao, as I am in devotional service of I’xCacao, allowing her medicine to connect with the hearts that need her, while honoring my Cacaotero & Curandero lineage.
I am from the Sun, incarnated in the navel of the Moon, born in La Gran Tenochtitlan, Mexico City. I share myself from love, for love, following the path of Origin and dedicated to the rescue of traditions—building bridges between cultures and wisdoms destined to meet in the new Era.
For over 15 years, I have worked with ancestral practices and studied herbalism, especially medicinal plants such as Cacao and Tobacco, honoring my lineage. My path has also included Mayan and Andean cosmovisions, Hinduism, Buddhist meditation, Mexican and Serbian shamanism, Celtic magic and Viking wisdom. More than 15 years of yoga practice further support my holistic approach to working with all aspects of being.
I offer healing sessions with the Solar Ray and Rainbow Ray, as well as ceremonial and ritualistic services.
Instagram: marriedtothesun
Mexico City, México
Claudia Natasha’s work sits at the intersection of ancient Earth wisdom and divine potential. With over a decade in holistic health and transformation, she bridges science and spirit to help others awaken their own inner intelligence.
Her journey with Maestra Cacao began in her kitchen, as she sought to give up coffee. What began as nourishment became an initiation, softening her heart and deepening her devotion. This path led her to Northern Peru and the ancient spiral temple of Montegrande, where the world’s oldest cacao was discovered, and where she experienced cacao as a medicine of the feminine and the womb: intuitive, creative and life-giving.
Through her devotion to Maestra Cacao and the Andean Lineage of the Seven Rays, Claudia holds ceremony as both prayer and leadership, rooted in rhythm, reciprocity and reverence. Her gatherings invite people to return to love, lead from truth, and live in harmony with Pachamama and the Divine.
Outside ceremony, Claudia dances samba professionally, spends time with her daughters, and lives and works on Gubbi Gubbi Country, Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Instagram: claudianatasha__
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Soy Sophie Zurita, terapeuta holística, maestra de Kundalini Yoga y facilitadora de procesos de transformación personal. Integro herramientas como el movimiento consciente, la respiración, la energía, el cacao y los espacios colectivos para acompañar a las personas en su reconexión interior. Mi camino une la arquitectura, el bienestar y la espiritualidad, creando experiencias que armonizan cuerpo, mente y espíritu. Soy co-fundadora de la Fundación Mujer de Luz y guía de círculos y encuentros que promueven la sanación individual y colectiva.
Instagram: sophiezurita
Quito - Ecuador
Jessica Schugardt is an Energetic Alchemist, Spiritual Mentor, Reiki Master, Yoga Instructor and Feminine Energy Guide devoted to guiding women back to their wholeness. She supports women in healing across their emotional, physical, mental and spiritual bodies, helping them reclaim their truth, embody their sovereignty and step into their leadership and vision.
Her journey began with a spiritual awakening in 2015 and a major health turning point in 2017. After severe vocal damage and being told she needed surgery, she chose a path of deep healing. Through energy work and inner transformation, she healed trauma, shifted limiting beliefs and reconnected with a more aligned way of living—an experience that became the foundation of her work.
For the past four years, she has taught yoga and cultivated a heart-centered community, creating spaces for reconnection through body and breath. She also facilitate women’s circles rooted in the divine feminine, often incorporating cacao as a heart-opening medicine for intention, presence and connection.
She is a certified NLP, Life and Success Coach, weaving multiple modalities to support women in awakening their spiritual gifts, embodying their inner goddess and creating meaningful impact in their lives and beyond.
Instagram: jessicaschugardt
Visalia, Ca, United States
Christina Montano is a Healing Arts Therapist, ceremonial guide, and cacao ceremonialist with over 36 years of experience in somatic and sacred healing. With a master’s degree in Holistic Health & Healing, her work weaves together bodywork, energy medicine, ceremony, retreats, and coaching to support deep healing, connection, and personal transformation. Her path has been shaped by both extensive study and lived experience, including raising four children, traveling the world, studying Eastern and Andean traditions, and working with cacao as a heart-opening plant medicine. Christina creates grounded, intuitive spaces where individuals can reconnect with their inner wisdom and move through life’s transitions with greater clarity and trust.
https://www.christinamontano.com/
Instagram: ChristinaMontanoMaine
Blue Hill Maine, USA
Erin Andrews has started two successful bean to bar chocolate companies, first in Belize before starting indi chocolate in Seattle. She has been sourcing cacao since 2008, is an international chocolate judge and speaks about cacao and chocolate around the world for nearly two decades.
Seattle, USA
Johanna Suárez Montejo: Abogada Especialista en derecho ambiental, apasionada aprendiz de la naturaleza, el misterio de las semillas y el tejido que representa el alimento oara las comunidades. Activista y promotora del Derecho fundamental a un ambiente sano por medio de prácticas y productos regenerativos. Aprendiz del cacao desde el suelo, sus polinizadores, sus flores y sus frutos.
Instagram: floradelosandes
Quindío, Filandia, Colombia
Valentina Velasquez es una amante del cacao y apasionaba por el tema del femenino y todo lo que rodea a lo que significa ser mujer. Tiene experiencia en áreas múltiples de la creatividad tanto digital cómo física / manualidades.
Instagram: avvliz
Bogotá, Colombia
Me llamo Layla Levy, soy franco-mexicana y fundadora de Douceur Activiste ("Duluza Activista"). Desde hace cinco años, mi trabajo explora cómo reconectarnos con la naturaleza, revisar los relatos heredados (sobre el éxito, el poder, el cuerpo y nuestra manera de habitar el mundo) y cultivar formas más conscientes, regenerativas y solidarias de vivir y actuar. A través de encuentros, conversaciones y experiencias sensibles, entrelazo reflexiones sobre feminismo, colonialismo, comunidad y cultura del cuidado, defendiendo la dulzura como una fuerza política y profundamente humana. Mis espacios unen espiritualidad e historia, conciencia y acción, conexión sútil y realidades concretas.
https://substack.com/@douceuractiviste
Instagram: douceur_activiste
Annecy, France
Kaysee Hill is IICCT L1 & 2 certified, and is completing L3 over the summer in Peru. She judged the 2026 Americas Chocolate awards this year. She will be speaking on the subject of Connection through Chocolate at the NW Chocolate Festival this year. She holds chocolate tastings in the city of Savannah, GA and has her own little chocolate company that is centered on promoting connection and presence
www.pantheracollective.com
Instagram: Kaysee_hill
Savanah, GA, USA or Santa Fe, NM, USA
Carolina Lescure: Tengo 38 años y soy de Panamá. Terapeuta Holístico con 12 años de experiencia en Thai massage, Kundalini yoga, mindfulness, danza terapia, apasionada por la medicina ayurveda, TCM y medicinas de la selva tropical. Soy la creadora de Cacao Blessings, un negocio social que transforma cacao de las islas de Bocas del Toro en chocolate oscuro con beneficios para la salud, donde resaltamos el trabajo de las mujeres nativas de la región. También soy guía en retiros de conexión femenina
Instagram: cacaoblessings / wildcaroles
Bocas del Toro, Panamá
Franziska Hein has been in love with chocolate since childhood. When she first connected with ceremonial cacao in 2016, she felt a deep calling to integrate this sacred plant into her life. Over the years, cacao became a powerful and loving companion in her own healing and self-discovery journey. Today, she feels deeply honored to share cacao with others and create spaces where we can reconnect with our hearts, our truth, and the wisdom within.
Instagram: i_am_franziska
Aschaffenburg, Germany
Giulia Garofalo is a mother of two, raising her children in the broad-leaf rainforest of Belize. Her love and connection to natural systems is expressed through her experience in permaculture, forest gardening and the crafting of creative bioregional cuisine. Particularly drawn to the Cacao plant and its mythological roots to Mesoamerica, Giulia has cultivated an intimate relationship to this plant medicine over the past 10 years. Together with her partner Sam, she transforms local Belizean Cacao into a dark craft chocolate, known as Dragon Chocolate throughout the world. Certified as a Sound Healing Practitioner, her innermost calling is to utilize the powers of Sound and Music as pathways to deeper listening and liberation.
Instagram: spiralterra / dragon.chocolate
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Jenny Maria Checo Vargas: Cacaotera, guardiana del cacao y anfitriona en Chocolate Mountain, Jenny une su formación académica en gestión turística con un enfoque turismo sostenible y regenerativo, se centra en diseñar vivencias inmersivas que nos permitan reconectar con lo esencial, usando el cacaoo como protagonista
Instagram: chocomtn
Rio Grande Abajo, Altamira, Puerto Plata, Republica Dominicana
Gabriela Alejandra Collaguazo Guachamin es facilitadora de ceremonias sagradas y de Cacao, ama compartir esta medicina para conectar con el corazón. Su enfoque es conectar con el amor propio, mejorar el autoestima y compasión por cada ser a través del autoconocimiento e introspección.
Instagram: cacaomagico.ec
Quito, Ecuador
Andrea Salazar Acero: Soy trabajadora social de profesión y desde hace algunos años he caminado de la mano de la tierra, la agroecología, la soberanía alimentaria y los procesos lentos y vivos que hacen parte de ella. En este caminar encontré el cacao, que ha sido mi alimento, medicina y guía, pero también ha sido mi trabajo cotidiano y el puente para conectar con otros corazones. Le di vida a un proyecto llamado Agua Amarga y a través de él busco compartir la sabiduría del cacao desde la elaboración de productos transformados.
Instagram: agua__amarga / a.cero.a
Armenia, Quindío, Colombia
Sarah Bharath works primarily with cacao farmers to provide as-needed technical and moral support in their cacao and wider farm journey. Her key goal is one of reunification of humans with their senses and their living systems, using cacao as a powerful gateway plant for understanding strength in diverse community, and cacao drinks and foods as gateway connectors from soil to functional nutrition for all.
Instagram: sarahbharath
Trinidad & Tobago
Phyona Flowers is the founder of Jody-Ann the Chocolatier, a chocolate company dedicated to creating meaningful chocolate experiences for dreamers. A common trope in cacao, she left her corporate job to pursue her passion for chocolate, studying with leading chocolatiers and chocolate makers while building her bean-to-bar craft. Inspired by transformation, storytelling, and cacao’s ability to connect people, she explores chocolate through flavor, origin, and personal discovery.
Instagram: phyona24
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Lucimara Rett: Pesquisadora e praticante dos saberes do Theobroma cacao. Professora Universitária e Terapeuta
Instagram: ecodelica_art
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Kathia Porog: Soy investigadora en cacao en México, enfocada en la valorización de residuos de la cadena cacao–chocolate para desarrollar propuestas sostenibles e innovadoras. Mi trabajo integra ciencia, experiencia sensorial y vinculación comunitaria.
He participado en la caracterización, registro y publicación de variedades de cacao criollo ante el SNICS, trabajando con productores y contribuyendo a la documentación y protección de materiales genéticos nacionales. También he sido ponente, tallerista, jueza y organizadora en festivales de cacao y chocolate y en el IV Seminario Internacional de la Cadena de Valor Cacao–Chocolate.
Soy miembro de la Red Nacional de Cacao del subsistema de Recursos Genéticos de la Secretaría de Agricultura. Además, soy fundadora de Ki’y Maltyox, donde facilito catas de cacao de origen y experiencias educativas con mindfulness, y cofundadora de Mikuchina Mulla, chocolatería enfocada en cacao fino de aroma. Mi intención es conectar la investigación, el territorio y la experiencia humana del cacao.
Keila Doria: Soy chef especializada en gastronomía basada en plantas, desarrolladora de productos y fundadora de Mikuchina Mulla, chocolatería enfocada en el cacao fino de aroma mexicano. Exploramos el cacao como alimento, ingrediente cultural y herramienta de innovación gastronómica, integrando nutrición funcional, desarrollo de productos y educación.
He participado en la creación de programas académicos, experiencias formativas y proyectos de innovación alimentaria para acercar el conocimiento del cacao y los alimentos funcionales a consumidores, emprendedores y profesionales de la gastronomía. Mi misión es demostrar que tradición, salud e innovación pueden coexistir en productos que honran el origen y la riqueza biocultural del cacao.
Instagram: porog_kate / trofy.key / kiymaltyox / mikuchina.mulla
Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Lindsey Glasson is a mother, cacao steward, and protector of Mother Earth. She believes we all carry the wisdom of our ancestors and the natural world within us, and that cacao is one of our greatest allies in remembering who we truly are. She is passionate about helping others remember that long before cacao became chocolate or candy, it was honored as a sacred plant medicine and a bridge to connection, community, and the wisdom of the heart. Through cacao, community, and conscious connection, she creates spaces for healing, remembrance, and belonging.
Commerce, Michigan United States
Raisa Torres is from coastal Ecuador, where generations of her family grew up in neighborhoods filled with the aroma of drying cacao from the mountain ranges of Manabí. A passionate ecologist, entrepreneur, and Operations Director of the Regeneration Field Institute, Raisa helps lead regenerative agroforestry field schools that support farmers in restoring soils, increasing productivity, and strengthening rural livelihoods. She is also building Tierra Viva Cacao, a regenerative Nacional fino de aroma cacao enterprise that creates international partnerships with customers who share her commitment to restoring landscapes and livelihoods through cacao.
Instagram: regenerationfieldinstitute / iamraiisita / tierraviva.cacao
Chone/Ricaurte+Ecuador
Altair Rodríguez G. es una investigadora social con formación en Derechos Humanos y Estudios de Desarrollo (Msc en Estudios de Desarrollo en SOAS, Londres). Hace una década hizo un cambio en su trayectoria profesional al decidir dedicarse a la agroecología y la permacultura. Desde entonces, se ha dedicado a regenerar una vieja finca de cacao propiedad de su familia (Finca Tierra Negra) con el objetivo de convertirla en una finca agroforestal y agroecológica modelo para el país, así como a educar sobre la necesidad de transformar nuestra relación con la naturaleza para crear una sociedad verdaderamente sostenible. En 2020 creó la iniciativa Tierra Urbana, un proyecto que busca promover y facilitar el compostaje urbano a través de asesorías y talleres así como del uso del sistema Bokashi (sistema que pre-composta o fermenta el 100% de los restos de alimentos).
Instagram: tierranegradr
Santo Domingo, República Dominicana
Tais Joi Pontes: Comunicadora, educadora, artesana y facilitadora.
Instagram: taisjoi
Brasília, Brasil
Soy Carolina Lacovino de Argentina. Hace más de 8 años que vivo en Sydney, Australia. Soy ceremonialista de cacao. Acompaño a mujeres a reconectar con la medicina del corazón, recordar su esencia y volver a escuchar la sabiduría que vive dentro de ellas. A través del cacao creo experiencias para mujeres que sienten su llamado, que desean acercarse a esta medicina con presencia, respeto y apertura, cultivando una relación más profunda con ellas mismas y con el corazón.
Instagram: carolina.and.cacao
Sydney, Australia
Yasmin de Sá is a 36 years old facilitator and communicator. She has been working with group circles and cacao for six years now with Manawa Cacao and experimenting with this incredible fruit on how we can be more present and give back to nature what we receive from it everyday. Part of what she does is to be in touch with native people from Brazil to learn and to give them voice, specially women, and since 2020 we have this feminine network that helps, gathers and strengthen our community. She has a International Relations college degree, a Marketing MBA, been to the Amazon, to Costa Rica and Peru, and is responsible for a beautiful venue in São Paulo that host spiritual and conscious events called Casa Akueran.
Instagram: yasmindiz / manawacacau
São Paulo, Brazil
Kavitha Narayanankutty is a B-School lecturer turned freelance content writer turned chocolate business coach. She helps women start and grow their home based micro chocolate business and become empowered through sustainable income generation.
Instagram: indianchocolateacademy
Kochi, Kerala, India
Francisca Herrera Alemán: Soy mentora y facilitadora en procesos de vida de liberación y transformación, a través del cacao y el cuerpo. Estudié Literatura en Inglés, y profundicé en el camino de la escritura creativa, viajé mucho, y en esta vida nómade comencé mi viaje de autosanación, conocí muchos caminos de sanación y hoy comparto lo que me mueve y hace sentido que es reconocer la historia de nuestros cuerpos y acompañarlo con la medicina del amor, el cacao.
Instagram: enrai_zando
Pucón, Chile
Compartiremos aquí las biografías y contactos de todos los anfitriones… ¡Gracias por su paciencia!
We will be sharing bios and contact information of all hosts here shorty… thank you for your patience!