You Helped Light the Fire—Now Help Ka kā wā Grow Into Its Next Chapter

Three years ago, Ka kā wā began with a simple vision: to create handcrafted bean-to-bar cacao that reconnects people to ritual, wellbeing, and the stories held within food.

What started as a small kitchen project in Ōtepoti has grown into a thriving cacao business, supported by a community that believes in slowing down, connecting deeply, and nourishing ourselves differently.

For the past three years, every bar has been handcrafted by me, often late at night, early in the morning, and in between the moving parts of life. We've poured our hearts into building Ka kā wā one batch, one customer, and one stockist at a time.

Today, our vision has outgrown our current production setup. To continue sustainably, we need to invest in equipment and infrastructure that will help us increase capacity while maintaining the quality, care, and integrity that Ka kā wā is built upon.

Behind the scenes, we've been working towards this. We're incredibly grateful to have received a $5,000 Puna Pakihi – Ngāi Tahu Pakihi Stay Up Grant and are currently awaiting the outcome of two additional funding applications. This support helps, there is still a significant gap to bridge.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 through community support.

Every $ raised will be invested directly into helping fund a larger melanger, tempering equipment, cracker + winnower, and essential tools for this next chapter.

If our chocolate, events, or kaupapa have touched your life in some way, we'd be incredibly grateful for your support.