Cacao Leadership Lab
May 23 - July 26
Designed as an evolution of the Cacao Apprenticeship, this program weaves together ceremony, indigenous wisdom, community care, embodied leadership tools and skill development, and practical business foundations.
Cacao Leadership Lab is a live, experiential training for those ready to continue deepening into cacao facilitation with integrity, confidence, and deep respect for lineage, land, and community.
Leadership Lab Team
Florencia Fridman is passionate about supporting the voices of indigenous nations, wisdom keepers, and guardians of the sacred lands. She works with the Mayan tradition from Guatemala and the Sapara Nation of Ecuador. She shares her passion for Theobroma Cacao through education and ceremony globally. Florencia has facilitated ceremonies for the corporate world at Spotify, Morgan Stanley, Google, and is a guest teacher at NYU.
Florencia is the co-founder of Cacao Laboratory, a Ceremonial Cacao brand aiming to bring awareness of a regenerative world through the voice of Cacao. She is also the founder of Florecer Community, bridging modern and ancient wisdom to create a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
Janesa Velazquez is a Cacao Ceremony Guide, trauma-informed 500Hr Yoga Teacher, Reiki Practitioner, poet and initiated Pampamesayoq—an earth and energy worker devoted to healing and remembrance. Rooted in her Taíno lineage and guided by the wisdom of the elements, she approaches her work through a social justice lens that honors both personal and collective liberation.
As the co-founder of Quilla Qoyllur Creative, Janesa helps steward Pietra Munay, a line of intentional ceremonial garments, and Spiritour, a platform for spiritual adventure and cultural immersion.
Her practice is a prayer of love—bridging ancestral knowledge with present-moment awareness to create spaces where every being feels seen, held, and deeply loved. Through each gathering, Janesa invites participants to remember their innate wholeness and deepen their connection with nature and spirit. Her ceremonies unfold as living prayers—spaces of gratitude, renewal, and remembrance—where ancestral wisdom meets the modern heart.
Commitment Expectations
This is a fully immersive 3 month virtual experience designed for deep growth and connection. The cohort gathers every other weekend, meeting on Saturdays and Sundays for 5 hours each day, with 1 hour built in for lunch or rest.
What To Expect
Refresher of Apprenticeship Material
Review of physical benefits / Contraindications
History
Agroforestry/Growing process of cacao
Ceremony Sequence
Opening Prayer & Closing Prayer
The Facilitator’s Role and Responsibilities & more
Environmental justice
Honorable Harvest & more
Sapara Cosmovision Foundation (guided by elder)
Maya Cosmovision Foundation (guided by elder)
Spiritual Hygiene
Altar
Sacred Materials and tools
& More
Curating the container
Sacred Songs
Instruments
Role of music in ceremony
Music
Representation, Authentic Marketing & More
Personal Goals & Self-Development Support
Promotion and marketing, website, newsletters, etc.
Support around how to set up your financial exchange for your services
Collaborations
Working with venues
Private experiences & more