SERAP KARA

Serap’s journey with Cacao began in 2011 with a life-changing encounter with the Spirit of Cacao. This was followed by an intense study of global resources, sacred plant medicine, energetic healing and Earth inspired wisdom from across many cultures.

In 2011, Serap focussed on the development of sustainable value chains for ethical mining practices of precious metals. She concentrated her energies on the economic, ecological and energetic principles of gold and other global resources, in particular the impact that acquiring them had on the Earth. After leaving the foundation she founded Cacao Mama and the Earth School as healing enterprises to honour the Plant Kingdom and learn how to be in Ceremony with Spirit and Pachamama. 

Serap is a medicine woman, Earth speaker, traveller, healer, student of the inner gold path and guardian of the Cacao Spirit. Her medicine hearts beats in rhythm with Mother Earth. She is dedicated to offering finely tuned healing experiences in order to assist others in aligning with their inner gold.

For many years, Serap has been evolving her skills to dream a New Earth into reality that will serve Future Generations. She was trained in energetic healing by Mari Nil, in Earth Stewardship by  the Teyuna Mamos and Zagas, spiritual leaders of the Arhuaco, Kankuamo, Kogi and Wiwa people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region of Colombia, and deepens her understanding of a universal perspective with the medicine man Puma Fredy Quispe Singona from the Andean tradition. 

Serap currently lives in Berlin. 

My liaison with cacao has begun in 2011. My flatmate who just discovered the benefits of cacao, was literally crazy about it. It was a time of making raw vegan in-house chocolate. I couldn't wait to have a first big bite in the morning. I’m a sensitive and spiritual person. What happened next was beyond expectation: I entered a spiritual realm to receive a full picture of the global flow of cacao and profit-based conditions that surround the plant. This experience was my first encounter with the magic of cacao and marked my initiation into the plant-world. 

By that time I worked for an international fashion premium label and a luxury jeweller and I had no idea what to do with this information. My study was focused on manufacturing, the nature of gold, gemstones and minerals. The gold industry faces serious challenges. My work there formed the seed for earthbeat, a foundation to raise awareness that gold must be sourced ethically. I studied commodity flows, supply chains, value chains, the industry mechanisms and the challenges that occur as Earth is exploited. I had a deep look at resources in general: from gold to metals to textiles, to food chains and agriculture. Frequently I was irritated by the injustice that takes place to compensate greed and power. Many actions are based on short term thinking, not caring for Future Generations. Visiting gold mines in Peru, especially artisanal and small-scale mines, and setting up the earthbeat initiatives Heartbeat Uganda and Heartbeat Peru, I witnessed how poverty leads people to harm their health and poison the environment in order to feed their children and themselves. 

Similar developments occur in the cacao industry. It moves me to read about child trafficking, the poor conditions of the farmers, the common poverty, the hard labour and human rights violation in the sweets & treats industry. Our western society has fallen in love with chocolate. Most chocolates we know deliver a fraction of nutrients cacao has to offer. Its power is weakened when sugar and dairy are added, most vitamins are destroyed when heated. People have become addicted to sugar, not to chocolate. The people at the source have no idea what chocolate means for us: a gift of love, a symbol of friendship and for many, sweet childhood memories.

The Mayans were the first true lovers of cacao. Cacao was sacred and has been used in their artwork, culture, in royal weddings and for medicinal purposes. Gold was used for aesthetic purposes only, cacao was currency. While gold became a status symbol and symbol of power over the times, cacao became a mass product and medium for the sugar industry. In my world cacao and gold went hand in hand. Nevertheless, it was not a Mayan, but Keith, the Chocolate Shaman from San Marcos in Guatemala, who brought the Cacao Ceremony to Berlin in 2013. He created a bridge between Cacao and Ceremony and sought the seed in the hearts of people. 

Earthbeat and the resource gold were a deep initiation for me, teaching me awareness for planet Earth. I studied the indigenous ways, to see, what we have lost on our way to civilisation. The indigenous people live in deep connection with nature, they respect Mother Earth, everything has a spirit. It was a journey to Cusco/Peru end of 2013, followed by a trip to the goldmines South of Peru that should change my connection to Earth for good. The message that I received during this journey: stop digging the mountain, stop hurting Mother Earth. 

On a retreat in Cape Town March I served my first ceremonial Cacao to a group of people from all over the world. With it I served a global picture of the resource itself. This afternoon a known picture of chocolate was completely replaced. CACAO MAMA was born as a healing enterprise.

Back in Berlin I deepened my relationship with Cacao - I began to teach and educate people offering wisdom, knowledge and The Cacao Experience. Cacao traveled with me to companies, to dancers, media experts and private people opening doors of perception, opening a crack in the heart. 

It’s been a journey full of magic, poetry and pace. Cacao is loving, nourishing and kind by being powerful and fast. Cacao maintains a deep communication with nature, in constant exchange with Earth, the soil, the minerals and the plants neighbouring. The rainforest is in danger and with it the home of many plants, animals and of indigenous tribes. This is the call of the Earth to act. To sustain its future, we need to balance economy, ecology and profit. Cacao acts as bridge between heart and mind.

I’m a guardian of Earth and I’m navigated by a cosmic order. Life is precious. So much love is needed to maintain life. It is our duty to take care of people and the planet itself that hosts us for the time being. Actions must be performed in balance in order to provide for Future Generations. 

I vision a global healing enterprise.

Berlin,  Jan 2015