Dear Dagobians,

Welcome to DAGOBA's Tao of Cacao e-news.We've got lots in store.

• 15% off our 2 oz Classic & Single Origin bars through 10/31
• Media and event updates
• Founder Frederick Schilling's Alchemist's Notebook
• Our web store has been upgraded to enhance your shopping experience. You can now place orders to ship at a future date, purchase our bars in single units, obtain tracking information on-line and shop from our friends at Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker and Joseph Schmidt Confections, among other benefits!
• NOTE - If you have an existing account, you may need to reset your account information

Savor the journey!

Text only or low bandwidth? View online at dagobachocolate.com "E-Newsletter"

Classic Bars Our Classic line now includes 20 pure blends and innovative, globally inspired infusions. Try our newest dark chocolate bars: Lemon~Ginger, Nibs, Seeds (hemp, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, Balinese sea salt) and Superfruit (acai, currents, goji berries)

Single Origin Bars Savor a journey to four of our favorite cacao origins: Pacuare (Costa Rica), Los Rios (Ecuador), Milagros (Peru) & Sambirano (Madagascar). Visit our website to learn more about the unique cacao flavors and our partnerships at origin.

Media & Events: Connect with DAGOBA Organic Chocolate

Media...DAGOBA Organic Chocolate's Latest Hits
Healing Retreats & Lifestyles: Food of the Gods (9/07)
Body + Soul: A Fair Trade Halloween (10/07)

Beyond the Pink Ribbon Campaign: Throughout October. With Pangea Organics and partners ABC Carpet and Home, eConscious, Eileen Fisher, Lexus, LUNA, Numi, Sambazon we're supporting a national campaign to build awareness about breast cancer and support the Breast Cancer Fund in eliminating environmental and other preventable causes of the disease. Look for products with the "Beyond the Pink Ribbon" tags at Berkeley Bowl, Cost Plus, Elephant Pharmacy, Rainbow Grocery, Whole Foods and Wild Oats, stop by a Fundraising event in New York City on October 18th, and educate yourself and others.

Green Festivals ~ Washington, DC: October 6-7 & San Francisco, CA: November 9-11
People, planet and business unite around hope, social justice and ecological balance. Hundreds of visionary speakers & green businesses, workshops, films, organic food/ beverages and live music. DAGOBA Organic Chocolate will be in the “Power Foods Pavilion” with friends Guayaki, Manitoba Harvest and Sambazon.

Bioneers Conference ~ San Rafael, CA: Oct 19-21. Visionary ideas for a sustainable future. We're sponsoring the concert stage - benefiting the Bioneers Youth program, keeping the event stocked with chocolate and teaming up with Guayaki to provide energizing Mate Lattes.

The reminder that earth continues to spin crept up on me the other morning as I rolled out of bed and realized I had to put slippers on as I made my morning cup of Xocolatl Hot Chocolate… FALL HAS ARRIVED… or is at least walking up the driveway. That same day as I worked in my yard, leaves and plums carpeted the ground and the leaves that stayed on the trees were morphing into their autumn tints of life transformation. The continuous cycle of transformation is all around us, unavoidable and indiscreet in her dance… and so I raked.

All summer I dined on grilled vegetables from my garden; zucchini was the staple. I had only one zucchini plant that produced enough fruit to feed our entire city of Ashland. This thing was bionic! The power of one plant to produce so much food that I had to give away most of it...another reminder of the power of giving and what one person or a group of people can do to feed the world, not only with good food, but simple goodness. Abundance exists; it comes down to sharing and helping our fellow earth citizens through nothing more than goodwill; which leads me into what’s new at DAGOBA Organic Chocolate...

We're proud to share with you, fellow Dagobians, that DAGOBA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the sustainable supply chain division of The World Bank. Through this agreement, we're helping make low interest loans available to a new cacao cooperative in the Dominican Republic; La Cooperativa Red Guaconejo.

“La Red” has more than 200 farmers that came together to protect the Loma Guaconejo Rainforest Reserve. By purchasing their cacao we’ll be able to work with farmers to preserve the precious rainforests and watersheds we all depend on. We're proud to be the first company to work with the IFC on a financing initiative tied to sustainable cacao. Even better, this agreement can be brought to cacao farmers around the world, providing low interest financing to farming communities and supporting an equitable, sustainable supply chain we can all be proud to be part of.

This is one of the many ways we can feed the world with simple goodness together ~ supporting equitable trade and environmental sustainability while enjoying amazing chocolate. Thanks for being a part our community of Full Circle Sustainability.

Choco regards,
Frederick and the DAGOBA Organic Chocolate family