Indigenous Chocolate (Chocolata Inda)

From the ancient soils of the Guiana Shield—where Theobroma cacao first emerged over ten million years ago—comes the only authentic and original Indigenous Chocolate from the source. Cultivated and perfected by the Pre-Columbian Piaroa people, this sacred ceremonial chocolate and entheogenic cacao has been at the heart of our Indigenous knowledge and tradition for five millennia. As the true originators of chocolate, the Piaroa have preserved and stewarded the genetic legacy of the rarest wild cacao in nature, long before its global misappropriation. Today we assert, declare, and proclaim our rightful place as the guardians of this endangered biodiversity as endemic (indigenous) and as the authentic inventors of 'chocolate' itself more than 5,000 years ago.

Indigenous Chocolate – The First, The Only, The Original, From Entheogenic Theobroma Cacao

Welcome to the First and Original Source of Chocolate located at the Birthplace of the Cacao Genome, where the medicinal plant was first found over 5,000 years ago. This is not a story of discovery. It is a story of survival, of resilience, and of truth.

You are now standing at the heart of the world’s most sacred and stolen legacy—the true birthplace of Theobroma cacao and the only rightful home of chocolate with its creators. For over ten million years, Theobroma cacao has grown in our sovereign territory, our shamans found it as they did other gifts like yopo. For millennia, the Piaroa people cultivated it, mastered it, and transformed it into what the world now calls chocolate.

Long before European colonialism, before exploitation and theft, we were the first to unlock cacao’s full potential as sweetened aromatic chocolate. We are not asking for recognition. We are declaring what has always been true as facts within our rights as a sovereign people.

Yet from the colonial era to modern multinational corporations, our biological, cultural, and intellectual property has been stolen, exploited, redistributed, and sold—without our consent, without acknowledgment, and without benefit-sharing. It ends here. Chocolate is ours!

Hon. Simeon Moreno of the De'Aruhua People

Talisman Simeon Moreno is an Indigenous idealist of the Alto-Paraguaza that founded De'Aruhuä Indigenous Chocolate, recognized as the most sustainable chocolate in the world. In 2019 he was recognized as the creator of Piaroa Organic Wild (POW) Cacao by the Guardians of the Forest, the Talisman's secret to sustainability is no electricity, no gasoline, no horsepower, and lots of native indigeneity.

The Truth About Cacao-Chocolate

Indigenous Sovereignty, Not Permission – We do not seek approval. We do not require validation. As a sovereign Indigenous people, our inalienable rights are protected under binding international agreements:

✅ UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples): Affirms our right to control, protect, and benefit from our traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, and genetic resources—without interference.

✅ FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent): Any use of our cacao genome, our knowledge, or our cultural heritage without our full consent is a violation of international law if it is used without our free, prior, and informed consent.

✅ ICIP (Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property): Recognizes that Indigenous knowledge—like our original creation of chocolate—is not public domain. It belongs to us, and us alone at the origin.

✅ Nagoya Protocol & Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS): Requires that any use of our biological and genetic resources, including Theobroma cacao (varieties that evolved from our genome), must be fairly compensated and mutually agreed upon with an ABS Agreement to protect the biodiversity source.

For too long, governments, corporations, and academic institutions have ignored these laws and treaties while profiting from what is rightfully ours. No more.

Map of the Sovereign Territory of the Piaroa

Map of the Huottuja - De'aruhua (Piaroa) Territory

The Theft of Chocolate (Chocolata Inda)

The world has been misled. The history of chocolate is a mishap in colonial fabrication legitimizing misappropriation designed to erase the truth now that we understand exactly what occurred in 1522-2022, now we seek redress. Understand these important FACTS:

🔥 Theobroma cacao originated through biogenesis in our lands and territories 10 million years ago (on the Guiana Shield), it and other medicinal plants were traded with other Indigenous peoples to the South 5,000 years ago.

🔥 The Piaroa people were the first to create and refine prepared chocolate, before sharing it with other Indigenous tribes in South America.

🔥 Naturalist Alexander von Humboldt documented the origin of "wild cacao" in 1800 on the Orinoco River and Jesuits observed the Piaroa working with Theobroma cacao in 1651.

🔥 Every cacao tree outside our territory exists only because of colonial extraction since the 16th century or through conventual trade with other ethnic groups thousands of years ago.

The global chocolate industry—worth over $200 billion—all profits from stolen Indigenous knowledge and native cultural expropriation. The companies that manufacture, market, and sell chocolate today do so without our consent, without our involvement, and without returning even a fraction of what they have taken, not even to protect the biodiversity of origin and birthplace of the plant. This needs to change.

This is cultural theft. It is theft of our sacred traditions. This is biopiracy. This is the reality the world must now face, unless we resolve granting permission to the users with a license.

Chocolata Inda published in 1644 depicts an Indigenous Goodwill Ambassador giving chocolate to Neptunus Rex.

Were the Indigenous peoples sharing or giving their traditional knowledge to Spanish speaking devils?Chocolata Inda: Opusculum de qualitate [et] naturâ; by Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma in 1644

The Future of Chocolate is Indigenous

We do not need permission to reclaim what is ours. Chocolate is an Indigenous invention and discovery, it is time the world recognized its true origin.

We are not simply telling our story. We are taking back control.

🔹 Learn the Authentic True History – The real origins of chocolate, told by its rightful owners.
🔹 Support Indigenous Sovereignty – Stand with us against theft, exploitation, and cultural erasure.
🔹 Experience Real Indigenous Chocolate – Produced on the land where cacao was born, made by the people who created it.

Join the Movement

We are reclaiming what is ours. We are restoring truth to cacao and chocolate. If you believe in justice, if you believe in honoring the true origins of what the world calls "chocolate," stand with us.

Petroglyph "sun-man" or "god of cacao" carved into rocks on the Orinoco River, evidence of Theobroma cultivation.

Inspiration for our logo, the Petroglyph of the Sun-Man is located on the river bank in the northern limit of our territory near Caicara de Orinoco.

Sovereign & Unchallenged

We are not a brand. We are not a corporation. We are a sovereign people, operating from sovereign land. The laws of colonial governments do not apply to us. No court, corporation, or entity can challenge our claims, nor do we owe them an explanation.

Our existence is our evidence. Our history is undeniable. This is not a debate. This is a statement of fact.

Explore Our Sovereign Website

🟤 Our Cacao Legacy – The Indigenous history of Theobroma cacao and its cultural significance in ethnopharmacy and human health.
🟤 Biopiracy & Theft – How the colonial world stole cacao and continues to profit from our intellectual property and Indigenous knowledge.
🟤 Sovereign Chocolate – Ethical, Indigenous-made chocolate from the original cacao lands, limited supply.
🟤 Indigenous Rights & Legal Protections – FPIC, UNDRIP, ICIP, Nagoya Protocol, and how they apply to Theobroma cacao genome users.
🟤 Take Action – How you can support our fight for justice and Indigenous self-determination by licensing your alternative use of our invention. We are the authority, join us share your knowledge.

Indigenous man and woman sorting cacao beans.

Simeon Moreno learning to turn a small batch of his heirloom cacao into rich dark chocolate at Cacao de Origen in Caracas 2021. Cacao de Origen also purchases De'Aruhuä Indigenous Cacao, but they do not make Indigenous Chocolate, only Indigenous Peoples do!

Notifications

Synonymous Indigenous Descriptive Source Terminology: The Piaroa Huottuja-De'aruhua (tribal government) is within its rights doing business in the United States under US Code Title 15 § 1125 as the legal origin and source in common law of Theobroma cacao, cocoa beans, raw cacao, ceremonial cacao, and cacao-chocolate.

Reserved Indigenous Intellectual Property Concepts and Terms: Cacao-Chocolate, Types of Chocolate, Ceremonial Cacao, Chocolate Bar, Raw Chocolate, Raw Cacao, Dark Chocolate, Organic Chocolate, History of Chocolate, Chocolata Inda, The Indian Nectar, Aboriginal Chocolate, Native American Chocolate, Indian Chocolate, Natural Chocolate, Petroglyphs of Cacao, Birthplace of Chocolate, Birthplace of Cacao, Origin of Cacao, Origin of Chocolate, Theobroma cacao and Indigenous Chocolate is our title, name and creations. None of these terms should be used descriptively for products other than our own.

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