If you facilitate cacao ceremonies — or are training toward facilitating — your relationship with the cacao itself matters as much as your relationship with the people in your circle. Sourcing, dosing, and how you talk about the plant in front of participants are part of the work. This guide is for facilitators who want a partner in cacao, not just a supplier.

What facilitators tend to need

Consistent quality across orders. Heirloom-variety cacao with depth and complexity, not commodity blends. Public heavy metals testing, so you can answer participant questions honestly. A direct sourcing story you can tell the circle. Reliable bulk pricing and dependable shipping for retreat dates.

Pacha Mana is built around all of these. We work with a single multigenerational family farm in the highlands of Peru cultivating wild-harvested heirloom Chuncho. We pay three times market rate. Every batch is tested. The story is not invented for marketing.

Why cacao quality changes the circle

Participants can taste the difference between commodity cacao and whole, heirloom cacao prepared with care. They may not have the language for it, but the cup lands differently. A circle held with a real plant medicine has a depth a circle held with a generic ingredient does not.

Chuncho ceremonial cacao paste is what most experienced facilitators reach for. The texture and aroma become part of the ceremony itself. For larger groups or daily practice, pure ground ceremonial cacao is also widely used.

Telling the sourcing story

Participants increasingly want to know where the cacao comes from. The best facilitators can answer in a few sentences — variety, region, farmer relationship, fair pricing, processing at origin. If you cannot answer those questions about the cacao you are serving, the circle is missing a piece.

Pacha Mana facilitators have access to all of this. Reference our materials when a participant asks.

Bulk and pricing for facilitators

We support facilitators with bulk pricing on paste, ground, and our Pacha Mana cacao bundles. Email support@pachamana.com for facilitator pricing. We are also happy to discuss recurring orders for retreat centers, training programs, and circle leaders running monthly events.

Single serving cacao packets are also useful for retreats — pre-measured doses for participant take-home or for travel ceremonies.

Dosing in a circle

The standard ceremonial dose is 30 to 42 grams of paste per adult. For first-time participants, many facilitators start lower at 20 to 25 grams. Always ask about pregnancy, medications (especially antidepressants), heart conditions, and stimulant sensitivity during intake.

Have a smaller-dose option available for participants who need it. Discomfort during ceremony is often dose-related and is preventable.

How to talk about lineage

Cacao ceremony has Indigenous roots — Maya, Aztec, Quechua, and many others. Modern Western facilitators are guests in this lineage. The most respected facilitators we know hold this clearly. They name where the practices come from. They do not claim what is not theirs. They direct participants toward Indigenous teachers when appropriate.

We hold this same standard at Pacha Mana. We honor traditions without claiming them. We amplify Indigenous farming partners. We frame the farmers as first-line defenders of nature — the original ceremony.

Building a long-term cacao practice

The best facilitators we know drink cacao daily themselves, not just when they hold ceremonies. Their relationship with the plant deepens with consistency. Their circles benefit. Participants can feel the difference between a facilitator who knows cacao from inside their own daily ritual and one who only meets it in the workshop room.

If you are not yet a daily drinker, start there. The facilitating will follow.

Working with us

We treat facilitator partnerships as long-term relationships, the way we treat our farming family in Peru. Reach out about wholesale, recurring orders, or co-creating retreat experiences. Ceremony starts at the farm — and continues through the people serving the cup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I become a Pacha Mana cacao ceremony facilitator partner?

Email support@pachamana.com. We work with established facilitators on bulk pricing, recurring orders, and retreat partnerships. We are not a certification body — we are a sourcing partner.

What dose should I serve in a cacao ceremony?

Standard adult ceremony dose is 30 to 42 grams of paste. First-time participants usually start at 20 to 25 grams. Always intake for pregnancy, medications, heart conditions, and stimulant sensitivity.

How much cacao do I need for a circle of 12?

At 35 grams per person average, plan for around 420 grams (about 15 ounces) for the circle. Add 10 percent buffer for top-ups. Our 1-pound paste blocks fit this size group well.

Can I get sourcing materials to share with my participants?

Yes. We provide sourcing one-pagers, our heavy metals testing results, and a brief on the family farm in Peru. Email us and we will send the most current versions.