Acknowledgments

Juan Laura was afraid, but he had to pluck up his courage if he wanted to keep from dying. After the Shining Path stormed into Natividad, the town in Ayacucho where he used to live with his family. He fled with his little ones and his inseparable companion, Carmen. He put his hope in Pichari Alto, located in the department of Cusco, and the soil gave him more than he could have ever imagined. “Cacao has given me the greatest treasure of all,” says Juan: the chance to send his children to university.