by Phoebe Preuss | Jul 29, 2024 | Events, Wellness Blogs, Wellness Event
Living Koko is known for its commitment to both sustainability and food sovereignty – we are grateful for the recognition given by City Of Melton as we have been announced as a finalist for the Business Excellence in Sustainability. Winners to be announced 4th September.
During our interview today and assessment tomorrow we have been in deep talanoa about our extreme strategy to sustainability.Taking a closer look at our beliefs in these areas:
Sustainability We have emphasised our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable practices in our operations. Our approach includes: Eco-Friendly Practices: Utilising sustainable materials and processes to minimise environmental impact. This may involve reducing waste, conserving resources, re-using our by-products and employing energy-efficient technologies.
Ethical Sourcing: Ensuring that our raw products are sourced responsibly. This includes working directly with our farmers and suppliers who adhere to fair trade principles and who follow environmentally friendly practices.
Local and Sustainable Supply Chains: Supporting local economies and reducing the carbon footprint associated with long-distance transportation by sourcing ingredients and materials as locally as possible.
Waste Reduction: Implementing practices to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials, and managing waste in a way that minimizes its environmental impact.
Food Sovereignty Food sovereignty is a key principle for Living Koko, reflecting our ongoing commitment to:
Empowering Local Communities: Supporting local farmers and producers to foster self-sufficiency and local control over food systems. Sustainable Agriculture: Advocating for farming practices that are environmentally friendly and sustainable, promoting biodiversity, and avoiding harmful chemicals.
Cultural and Community Values: Respecting and integrating traditional knowledge and practices related to food production and consumption.
Healthy and Nutritious Food: Prioritizing the production and availability of healthy, nutritious food that contributes to the well-being of communities.
Our dedication to these principles underscores our broader mission to create a positive impact on both the environment and local food systems.
Being shortlisted for this award is exciting and we wish all finalist an amazing night and journey ahead.
by Phoebe Preuss | Jul 10, 2024 | Events, Wellness Blogs, Wellness Event
Saturday 24 August, Tickets Here
Koko & Konnect is a sensory experience created with your community in mind. In todays busy world take a moment for you to connect in a unique way. A chocolate and cacao tasting experience that applies an indigenious practise stemming from the cultivation of cacao. Learn how the kin-centric relationships in the natural world can ground us and help us understand our current environments.
We will teach you how to make your drinking chocolate from scratch. Together roasting, peeling and hand grinding the beans.
We’ll take you on a heart led journey through the Pacific Islands sharing the stories and chocolate/cacao products created by Living Koko a zero waste cacao manufacturing space based in Melbourne. The workshop will be hosted by Lolopō Phoebe Preuss who has a family lineage of over 200years of cultivating cacao in Samoa documented.
Throughout the session we will be connecting to our breath, while mindfully tasting and understanding chocolate as a plant medicine.
A workshop that fosters connection and an understanding on the many ways one can live life.
by Phoebe Preuss | Jul 5, 2024 | Events, Wellness Blogs, Wellness Event
I have been activating a lot of events, wellness spaces and conversations around cacao, healing and ceremony…and when I hear people in the wider community say “all these ceremonies are bullshit…” Those that have never attended ceremonies like this the word ‘listen’ comes up a lot for me. Listening to self and listening to others, listening to body and listening to country.
I reflect on this Māori proverb
“Mā te rongo, ka mōhio; Mā te mōhio, ka mārama, Mā te mārama, ka mātau; Mā te mātau, ka ora.” “From listening comes knowledge; from knowledge comes understanding, From understanding comes wisdom; from wisdom comes well-being.”
It’s a strange fabric we have to navigate when bringing our cultural ceremonies to a consumer driven world. I have had robust conversations with others in the chocolate/cacao industry that struggle with the idea of cacao ceremony and also those in the wellness space who want me to teach them how to run Samoan cacao and ‘Ava ceremony. I have had customers call asking forcefully – almost ready to pounce… if our Head and heart is “ceremonial grade” and then when I ask them what that means to them – they have no answer.
Often my response is… “Yes it is…but you bring your ceremony” Our people have ceremony with cacao – the ceremony doesn’t happen when we open a packet of drinking cacao. Its starts with thousands of years of cultivation, its how we cultivate, the relationships with nature and within nature, our connection to the cosmos and the ways we harvest and drink our Koko Samoa on a daily. Its the acknowledgement of all the relationships that have supporting this cacaos growth and now our own.
And for cultural ceremonies there are things we will share and things we won’t and can’t. Sometimes the explanation of the importance of ceremony is lost due to the unaware spaces we are speaking it into.
We live in cities, in concrete jungles consumed by the mundane and the superficial, and it can be easier and partly because we are in survival mode that we miss the profound beauty and deeper meaning woven into the fabric of life. We remain blind to the subtle ceremonies that unfold in everyday moments, where presence and mindfulness reveal the sacred in the ordinary. Without awakening to this inner vision, we forfeit the chance to experience life’s true essence and the profound connections that ceremonies, whether cacao or kava (or whatever you create ceremony with) can symbolise. For example our ‘ava traditional ritual, involving the preparation and sharing of the kava drink, is a cornerstone of Samoan identity, bringing our people together to honour our ancestors and maintain cultural continuity. Participating in the Ava ceremony, we not only preserve our rich heritage but also reinforce our social bonds and communal values. Each action, movement and word spoken during this ceremony comes with deep intention and generations of deep relationship with country and land. To learn the intention with each movement would not penetrate with the depth needed to keep this sacred – and when sharing it, people will only hear what resonates with them. For us the intention behind creating ceremony for our wider community is to help bring the presence into a chaotic world. To bring the depth into the small actions we do each day. To remind ourselves to see our own special purpose and pathway and to leave with softness and grace to manage what lies ahead. Softening ourselves and our lens through ritual can support our healing journey and our families healing.
by Phoebe Preuss | May 30, 2024 | Events, Uncategorized, Wellness Blogs, Wellness Event
We would like you to join us for “Koko & Konnect” – 29 June 2024 – Tickets here
Koko & Konnect is a sensory experience created by Living Koko. A chocolate and cacao tasting event with more depth and understanding of where our cacao comes from.
We will teach you how to make your drinking chocolate from scratch. Together roasting, peeling and hand grinding the beans.
We will take you on a heart led journey through the Pacific Islands sharing the stories of cacao from our homelands and our indigneous cultivation practises that are still used today. Sampling a variety of chocolate/cacao products created by Living Koko, a zero waste cacao manufacturing space based in Melbourne that has a family lineage from over 200years of cultivating cacao and exporting from Samoa. We will also take some time too gently check in with ourselves, connect with our breath, while mindfully tasting and understanding chocolate as a plant medicine.
Join us for a night of cacao, connection and deeper understanding on fa’a Samoa (the Samoan way of life)
Date: 29 June 2024
Time : 7.00pm – 8.30pm
Venue: Living Koko
by Phoebe Preuss | Apr 9, 2024 | Chocolate manufacturers Melbourne, Events, Wellness Blogs, Wholesale Chocolate
For each of us, Mothers’ Day holds different significance and can bring up mixed emotions – positive and negative. The day can be used as an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the many different kinds of mother figures in our lives, whether they be biological mothers, surrogates, aunties, friends, sisters, mentors, fathers, or the untapped mother within each of us.
Positive mother figures embody the values of nurturing, caring, loving, protecting, teaching, holding, guiding, and giving life. Largely, these values involve one’s energy being given out to other people, which, while virtuous and caring, can be exhausting and strenuous on body, mind and soul. I often think of all the times I did not support my mother in ways she needed. Being without life experience and awareness I didn’t recognise the selflessness she portrayed and the expectations I held on her. Sometimes I feel that a lot of the gift packs and practises I create and share is what I would have loved to have offered my mother and my mother friends during their time of exhaustion and need.
A beautiful way to honour and thank the mother figures around you – and even the quiet motherly voice within yourself – is through healing and restorative self-care practices.
Far from being an indulgence, self-care is essential for each of us to be able to function properly day-to-day, particularly when we’re faced with stressful situations or are caring for other people.
A self-care practice is different for each individual, and it’s about more than having a nice bubble bath and a glass of wine. Genuine and nurturing self-care is holistic and is about taking the time to reflect within and listen to what your body, mind and soul needs to calm, centre and reenergise.
It doesn’t have to be complicated or onerous, it can be made up of little activities that help us replenish our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy. Here are just a few ideas that can help unwind and recharge, so we can show up as our best selves in our daily lives.
- Start your day right with a simple morning ritual. Rise half an hour earlier than usual and pick a couple of things to spend some mindful time with. Brew yourself a cup of something delicious whether it be tea, coffee…or of course our favourite, koko! Use your favourite cup or mug and take a few moments to inhale the scent of the brew, feel the warmth in the cup and the sensation of the liquid in your body. Take some deep cleansing breaths and set some intentions for your day, or even do some journaling.
- Nourish your body. While cooking dinner every night can be calming and fun for some, if it’s not your idea of self-care then make it easy for yourself. Meal-prep some healthy meals for the week when you have some time, or order some meal kits. Focus on eating whole foods high in nutrition, without denying yourself your favourite treats. Eating high quality dark chocolate is a perfect example – savour every bite and know that you’re getting the health benefits of antioxidants, iron and magnesium, all in one delicious package!
- Slow your brain down throughout the day. Meditation can be a challenge and it’s not for everyone, but taking a few moments to sit quietly and focus on one calming thing can be so energising. Focus on your breath, a mantra or calming phrase, or silently give thanks and appreciation to your body, the earth and the mana – the spirit of life and energy. The ancient practice of giving gratitude combined with deep breathing and quieting your mind has played a central role in many cultures for eons for good reason – it works.
- Turn your bathroom into your own private day spa…even if it’s just for a short time. Whether you have an hour or just a few minutes, you can make the simple process of having a shower a more relaxing task to reset your body and mind. Light a candle or scent diffuser, grab your favourite body products and make your shower a mindful and present experience. Notice the different scents, textures and sensations and use the time to ground yourself and reset. Packed with organic, natural ingredients, our Koko Smooth range of body and face scrubs, masks and serums are the ideal way to give yourself a mini escape from the outside world, while giving your skin some alofa– love.
Incorporating restorative self-care practices into our daily routines can have a significant impact on our overall well-being, and these are just a few easy ideas. So, take some time for yourself and try out these practices, or gently suggest (or gift!) some of them to someone in your life who might need some nurturing.
