Gavin Kendrick is a writer from Liverpool. He founded the Cacao Love project and has shared cacao produced by Asháninka growers with thousands of people around the world. He publishes weekly essays that illuminate the connections between ceremonial practice, neuroscience, and practical wisdom for daily life. Gavin is a lifelong student of the forest mysteries, and has apprenticed in traditions from the Peruvian Amazon, Central African rainforest, and Druid revival. He is a ceremonial musician who plays the eight-string harp, log drum, and mouth bow. He teaches syntropic agroforestry, and lives with his wife Diane, growing a two acre food forest on the coast of East Africa.

Part I: Entering the cacao orchard

• A modern cacao ceremony
• What this book is and what it isn't
• What is cacao?
• Who is this book for?
• Our brothers and sisters, the trees
• How is Cacao Made?
• The Transformational Power of Ceremony

Part II: Meeting Cacao: An Ancient and Modern History

• A Short Stroll through the Cacao Grove
• The Journey of Cacao to the Modern World
• What does ceremonial grade mean?
• Cacao cosmovisions
• A medicine of the heart
• Our first ceremony together

Part II: Cacao and Health

• The Chemistry of Cacao
• Understanding Cacao Contraindications
• Dosages
• Creating Irresistible Elixirs

Part III: Cultivating Practice

• The Foundation of the Path
• A Daily Practice
• Altar building
• Elemental alchemy
• Awakening the Senses
• Free Writing
• Breath Prayer
• Pelvic Rocking

Part IV: Holding Space For Others

• What Is Holding Space?
• What kind of something is that something?
• Supporting people to navigate their experiences

Part V: Sharing Ceremony

• The Inspiration to Share
• Choosing a venue
• Designing a structure
• Creating an invitation
• Preparing The Medicine
• Creating Sacred Space
• Opening the Space
• Closing The Ceremony

Part VI: Rituals to Share

• An introduction to Somatic Experiences
• Somatic Experience #1: Herbal Foot Soak
• Somatic Experience #2: Chair Yoga
• Somatic Experience #3: Breathwork

Part VII: A Closing Prayer

• Pasonki