We crossed a swinging bridge in the mountains of Costa Rica and climbed the hill to where the Watsi village spread out among the trees. Thatched roofed homes greeted us, and simple people opened their hearts wide and took us in. The Watsi are delightful. They live close to the earth and in connection with a sacred chocolate forest.
“Cacao is the Mother of us all,” the daughter of the village medicine man explained as she led us past stone statutes of warriors and crocodiles guarding the entrance to the ancient cacao grove.
We entered a dark hut where a tiny wrinkled woman was roasting dried beans over an open fire. She scooped up the hot beans and spread then out on a well-worn stone. She rocked another stone back and forth over the beans until they were crushed into a warm paste which she formed into a ball.
“This is the cacao,” she explained in heavily accented Spanish.
She let me taste it. It was bitter.
Theobroma—Greek for God Food—is the name of the cacao. Its secret chemical compound is named Theobromine because it is found almost exclusively in the bitter beans. Its closest chemical cousin? THC, the stuff in marijuana that gets you high.
Costa Rica’s Caribbean Indians drink 5-6 cups of a hot beverage made with Theobroma Cacao every day. They say it brings them good health and long life.
And they are some of the longest living people on earth.
In an effort to support traditional practices in small villages, in hopes of supporting indigenous people's families, Poverty Project International is offering you raw chocolate that comes straight from the source. We've named it WildSelva (technically it means Wild Rainforest)
WildSelva was born in the rain forest. It was birthed with the idea of connecting humble, indigenous people and their secrets with you. We do not remove the cocoa butter from our raw powder. We keep it whole, the way the Watsi do.
When you make a cup of hot chocolate, you will find tiny circles of cocoa butter floating in shimmering glory on the top of your cacao.
Add sea salt and honey for a savory-sweet drink and you will find yourself experiencing the mood-lifting, brain-power boosting, energy enhancing, cell rejuvenating, soul happifying effects of all natural, raw cacao the way Mother Nature intended you to!
You can purchase WildSelva raw chocolate in the Poverty Project International shop at
The people of the rainforests benefit from your purchase and so do you!
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