Warren Hellerud

Warren Co-founded the Anandamide raw & handmade chocolates shop in Long Beach, Ca 2012 – 2019, where they sourced wild harvested Arriba Nacional Ecuadorean cacao, thus supporting many small communities in Ecuador to thrive, and doing this in a way in harmony with the rainforest as well. 

Currently he is the North American Co-Founder of the International Kairao / Centro Awavãna organization, an indigenous amazonian organization that holds space for the spiritual study and cultural preservation / continuation of the traditional ways of the Yawanawa tribe of Acre, Brazil.

Warren is a lifelong advocate for ecological harmony and the preservation of indigenous wisdom, whose work bridges environmental stewardship, cultural continuity, and conscious commerce across the Americas.

In 2012, Warren co-founded Anandamide, a raw and handmade chocolate shop in Long Beach, California, built on a foundational commitment to environmental and community integrity. By sourcing wild-harvested Arriba Nacional Ecuadorean cacao, the venture created meaningful economic pathways for small farming communities across Ecuador — supporting livelihoods in a manner that honored and reinforced the health of the surrounding rainforest. The shop operated until 2019, leaving behind a model of how ethical sourcing can simultaneously uplift human communities and protect fragile ecosystems.

Warren’s dedication to indigenous cultures and Amazonian preservation has since taken on a defining role in his life’s work. He serves as the North American Co-Founder of the International Kairao / Centro Awavãna, an indigenous Amazonian organization devoted to the spiritual study and cultural preservation of the traditional ways of the Yawanawá people of Acre, Brazil. Through this work, Warren helps hold space for one of the Amazon’s living cultures — ensuring that ancient knowledge systems, ceremonial practices, and a deep reciprocal relationship with the land are not lost, but carried forward.

At the intersection of environmental protection, regenerative commerce, and indigenous sovereignty, Warren represents a rare and essential voice — one rooted equally in action and reverence.