Ambiguity, Cacao and the Flowering of Gaiapoiesis

my ambiguous, ambitious, and gloriously absurd mission does not seem simple to explain...but that is what I will try to do...

I have this crazy idea, that has come through various visions that
crashed their way through meditations, visits with plant allies, and
talks with friends that lasted well into the night.

This idea has shaped my life, and brought me here, to the damp tropical forest in search of a wild, native variety of cacao.

Yes...somehow it all has to do with chocolate.

But chocolate is merely the currency of the vision. And just as I am
loath to believe that dollars are the end all be all of human
existence, so to is cacao limited (but integral) in the idea..this
pesky vision that has tugged me (or perhaps that I have chased with
feverish eyes?) to this vivid tropical dreamscape.



The craziness (or perceived craziness) of this idea makes me reluctant
to spill it across my glowing computer screen to be cast across the
internet....but that same seeming absurdity is what drives me to share
it. perhaps that idea, of the fresh absurdity of my idea might seem
counter intuitive to some of my readers...so I will put that part of my
story away for the time being, and get down the the nitty-gritty of
explaining what has brought me to this amazing, green, vivid landscape
in search of a particular variety of a globally traded plant that has
many of the same properties of illegal species that grow in a similar
climate.

Theobroma cacao, food of the gods. This amazing species could be a key
element in the design of a regenerative system that can reverse
deforestation and desertification in the tropics, boost the standard of living of a
substantial proportion of rural inhabitants of tropical countries, and
link the world together in a way that will build information rich,
cooperative and symbiotic relationships in a way that our world is in
dire need of.

This is a story of resilience, and diversity. This is a vision of connection and symbiosis.

This is an idea that grows out of the firtile soil that has been cultivated with care by ecologists, permaculturalists and bioregionalists.

This is my story of Gaiapoiesis, and the reason that this blog exists...
So, I will plunge on un-abashed at my crazy vision for a better way...a different way.
At this point my mind is jumping to start creating outlines and bullet points...

but for the moment, in the interest of going with the flow of my creative leanings and the current state of the local noospheric
conditions (there is a poetry festival pulsing away just down the hill
from the poor barrio in Granada from which I am sending this humble
dispatch)...

so, for the time being, a rambling exposition of my ideas will have to
suffice until I come back into the state of mind that will allow a more
concise expose of the patterns and details of this plan for eco-social
regeneration and patrix busting on the grandest scale.

So

I won’t be bashful.

here it comes...the crazed blathering of a lunatic? or the
pre-sentience of things to come? or perhaps a glimpse of a world that
would have...would have...should have been.

well...lets see what it looks like:

It looks like a small farm barely visible through the thick tropical
vegitation. Monkeys howl and big cats prowl through the dark
shade...and the wily human inhabitants make an amazing living providing
quality commodities, namely cacao, coffee and medicinal plants for the
international and local markets.

Elements of this finca desiparicido are a biofuels plant, a pyrolysis
unit, a satellite uplinked computer system, a conservation buffer zone,
shade grown cacao plants of various species, shade grown coffee, and an
assortment of other tropical fruits and nuts woven together in a mosaic
pattern that mimics natural habitat and increases the disease
resistance, overall yield and pest resistance of the marketable crops.

The total start up cost for this kind of farm depends on if one is
working with existing growers, but current estimates put it at less
than a million dollars to bring a fully functioning regional trade
system up on line that can bring carbon negative commodities to market.





This finca is up-linked in to a transparent commodity trading system
that allows people to connect directly with the producers, and also
connected with a transportation supply chain that is carbon nuetral,
relying on biofuel transportation for rural overland routes, trains
powered by renewable for the mainline overland routes, and sail powered
over sea shipping for oceanic travel.


This vision starts here and now with me, bootstrapping together a trip
to learn about cacao, and sniff out the possibilities of all the
different facets of this absurd vision...as I try to weave together
enough of it to create a viable business model to jump start the dream,
and chase ofter the vision with the reckless abandon of a hopeless
romantic and youthful idealists.

Armed with some amazing wisdom dolled out in homeopathic doses from
elders like Sandy Hepler, Andy Langford, Albert Bates, my amazing
parents, and a whole host of encouraging folks with more years under
their belt I plunge on ahead making enough mistakes to sink any but the
fiercely determined...

And the best part is...its all fun.

Learning about the ins-and-outs of cacao production and it’s
transportation and marketing is like a microcosm of the global
commodities market...and addressing this head on to create a business
model that functions for people and the planet is an edge that many
folks are surfing with the advent of Financial Permaculture, True Cost Economics, B Corps, BALLE and triple bottom line accounting.

sometimes the juggling act that has allowed me to really jump head long
into this quest can be a bit taxing...but the learning curve for
automating that part of my life that had, heretofore, been in my way is
all part and parcel of learning to be an eco-social entrepreneur.

And the people I am meeting along the way, the story book friendships
and serendipitous connections make me shake my head in wonder at times
as I plunge ahead into un-chartered waters with a gin on my face and
love in my heart.



So,

that is one of the base harmonies and driving beats of my vision.
There are certainly more ins and outs...and some important crescendos
that have not been unveiled (i am certain that even I will be surprised
by many of developments that will be sparked by this unfolding
dream)....



my vision is a part of a flowering conspiracy or resonant regeneration

“The question is not who else is in a conspiracy and what they are
doing. The question is, are you in a conspiracy, and if not...why?”
C.A. Fitts

so, my conspiracy laid bare in the full embrace of open source philosophy, I offer this question to the world...



what is your conspiracy? how do you want to change the world? and what are you doing about it?