I don't know how many times I have told this story. And every time I tell it differently. From a different perspective, in a different tone, or with a different mood.

I feel this story is as rich as the power of cacao itself. And its influence on my life as great as the influence of cacao on the world, so I hope. Here, I would like to tell our story once again in a completely different and more detailed way. From the inside out. My inner path, process, and decision to dedicate my life to cacao (and vice versa).

It all begins in South America

Adventure and freedom. Having 24 hours a day that are available to me and only me sets the ball rolling. What if every day guaranteed so much freedom? What if I didn't have to do anything at all? On the plane, I write down questions. One of them is: What can I find on this continent that I don't know yet and that I can bring back to my family and friends?

It was soon to be uncovered...

South American freedom grabs me by the collar and leads me through the wildest jungle to the greatest waterfalls, past the highest mountains, right into adventure. Once across Brazil, where I realize how colorful and dangerous life can be, and turning off in Northern Argentina.

With many stops in Bolivia, where I come into contact with true poverty and ancient culture for the first time. In my four months in Peru, I get a taste for it. The first cacao experience comes unexpectedly, but I don't believe in coincidences anymore.

The first cacao discovery

The key experience happens in Tingo María, Peru. Cacao makes me melt and inspires every fiber of my body. I feel like I'm flying. Everything is possible. So why not drive to the most beautiful festivals with a colorful truck and show humanity what cacao has to offer? This thought makes my heart beat infinitely faster.

"Follow your greatest joy!" I hear my Kindle whisper. The first sketch of my truck with me inside it is created. Far too good to be true and yet, felt so possible - perhaps brought within reach by the effect of cacao on my nervous system!

"How can such a healthy substance with such a fantastic effect be so unknown in our latitudes?" - I ask myself.

Today as then, it is a mystery to me. As a graduate industrial engineer, fresh from the University of Media, the market gap bells are ringing for me. My Big Chance! But first, travel for another year or so...

In Colombia, my sensors are already tuned to cacao. The first cacao farmers are located, contacts are made, and plans are spun.

An idea becomes a plan

At Couchsurfers' places and in hostels, I get the opportunity to tell people about my idea. And every time I bubble over with enthusiasm. Again and again, I receive confirmation and optimism. Could the number of joints smoked on those evenings have something to do with it? Quien sabe...

The interest awakened in me begins to grow, bloom, and bear fruit. I diligently jot down ideas in my small, beat-up notebook; spend plenty of time in equally beat-up internet cafes and click my fingers sore. Pure cacao seems to be an undiscovered diamond in the world of consumption and well-being. Only in the spiritual world do people seem to know about it.

Again and again, I enjoy the effect of the cacao and create wondrous fantasy worlds for myself in which people celebrate together and nurture one another. Supported and fostered by the wonderful effect of cacao. And me in the middle of it all with my truck, the bass in my ears. YES!

Yoga as a tool

But before I dare to take the absolute leap, I want to engage with this yoga thing again. Back then in Lima at the Malecon, it was always so awesome. That's why I'm heading to India for three and a half months. If not now, when?

With yoga, I finally get a tool that makes my lack of understanding of this existence shrink sustainably. I finally learn techniques to reduce the sometimes-occurring unbearableness of being. Or at least to be with it.

Nice side effect according to Siddhantji, my yoga teacher: "Clarity of Mind". And so it becomes crystal clear to me what my next action steps are to get started with cacao. It feels like a pull, and an impatience spreads within me.

6 steps to cacao happiness

1. Save up money in Germany
2. Road trip with my friend Max and his VW bus Berta through Northern California
3. Flight for an indefinite period to Guatemala
4. Return to Germany with cacao
5. Company foundation, cacao processing, and bus conversion 6. Cacao festival summer

My then-preliminary 6-point plan. Easy, right? In any case, wonderful material for future blog posts! And even if it sounds "clunky", that is exactly what happened. I have pursued my goal with an unwavering spirit and still do.

The advantage of a personal vision for the world is that there are infinitely many personal ways to approach it. And the smallest act in its spirit can harbor the greatest fulfillment.

Each action stands for itself and works for itself. And that releases me from the feeling of having to achieve something. Because right here where I stand, I have achieved exactly what was necessary. If I don't like it here, how could I get the idea that it would be better somewhere else?

"Let's be honest, life is always life-threatening!" - Erich Kästner

That's why I now wear cacao on my skin. Not because of back then, not because of tomorrow. Solely because I feel it now. And it feels good. Thank you, dear Ekadashi, for letting me wear your hand-work on my skin. Thank you, dear Ix Kakao, for this path together. I cannot imagine a more beautiful one.