The Hacienda property is located at the center of an interesting and important reality. To the south is a Bachoco farm; to the north, the river "Rio Laja"; to the east, the main highway between San Miguel and Dolores Hidalgo, and to the west "La Cuadrilla", the closest neighboring village to the Hacienda.

Bachoco is one of Mexico's largest chicken agro-industries, and the farm adjacent to us is dedicated to growing chicks into adult chickens, ready for sale. Bachoco is a primary employer for La Cuadrilla, and therefore are viewed by most locals as an asset to the region. Due to deforestation and resulting desertification and erosion, the river Laja now runs dry for most of the year. This is not only devastating to the local ecology, but has a global impact as well. The Laja is located on one of three major migratory bird routes and is a vital water source for migrating birds in the western hemisphere.

The highway is significant because it provides easy access to the city and Highway 57, the main artery between Mexico and the United States. Municipal busses going to and from San Miguel/Dolores stop off the highway every 15 minutes, and La Cuadrilla even has its own dedicated municipal bus. For this reason, La Cuadrilla is not your typical rural Mexican village; exposure to the slightly progressive and internationally influenced San Miguel has left its mark. According to a local historian and anthropologist, La Cuadrilla is different from other rural communities for another reason as well. The people of the region are primarily of Otomi origin, but the Otomi of La Cuadrilla are a distinct and separate group whose culture was shaped largely by their proximity to the river and the independence that it granted.  

We believe this unique setting lends itself to a project that facilitates a bio-technical exchange between La Cuadrilla and ourselves. This idea is largely based on the work that Peter Van Dresser did with small land based communities in Taos, New Mexico. With the Hacienda as its nexus, our project aspires to provide La Cuadrilla with modern technologies while encouraging and maintaining local cultural knowledge, technologies, and arts. This exchange is currently manifesting itself in four major ways: cultivation of food, preservation of water, a search for alternative energy sources, and restoration of the river and the surrounding land. We have separated these concepts for clarity, however, in reality they are all interdependent and essential to the fruition of our project.   

Around thirty years ago, San Miguel became a high profile tourist destination. The large influx of tourists has shifted the local economy from land-based businesses to a growing dependence on tourist dollars. Gradually, many households reduced (or eliminated completely) home gardens and livestock, as is the case with our eight employees. Together, we are gradually returning to owning our food needs.

We have started a co-op garden on the property for our employees and our families. Unfortunately, the local soils in their current state have severely deteriorated from over grazing and deforestation, resulting in erosion of topsoils. The remaining land is decreasing in fertility. The compacted soils now have a high level of clay and salt, are dominated by bacteria, and have very little structure. We have a certified Soil Food Web advisor/consultant Doug Weatherbee working with us to create thermophilic compost and also to establish our vermicomposting systems. Together, we are learning how to make compost with local materials, how to harvest and preserve rainwater, how to garden organically and sustainably, and how to care for the land. By restoring the soil and relearning how to farm, we hope to provide La Cuadrilla and ourselves with some lasting tools for self-sustenance.  

There is great concern and controversy surrounding the aquifer that supplies water to San Miguel and the surrounding communities and cities. Some scientists believe that it is being drained faster than it can be replenished and is gradually being sucked dry by wells all over the area. Some predict a gradual upward concentration of natural fluoride to toxic levels, some predict that the aquifer will fail completely, some do not believe there is a problem at all and that it is being adequately recharged. Either way, it is evident by the surrounding desert landscape that water will be a vital part of restoration, whether or not it is in short supply. Therefore, educating our neighbors and ourselves about rainwater harvesting is vital to our project.

We are also currently working with local campesinos to design a plan to share part of our well water concession for co-operative agriculture. Their current crops are mostly corn, alfalfa and oats. While this has been economically feasible in past years, it is becoming less and less so due to water shortages and droughts. In the eighties and nineties when the Hacienda property was under previous ownership, the well that had been used in the past to support agriculture was separated physically from the surrounding fields. We want to reconnect the Hacienda water with the land, but with the intention to step away from conventional crops (for example alfalfa) to less water-reliant orchard crops (such as olives).

We have been working with a non governmental organization "Salvemos al Rio Laja" who (in concert with other NGO's as well as city, state, and federal governments) are dedicated to the restoration and reforestation of the river and surrounding communities. With their help, we hope to acquire additional funding for the restoration project to supplement our own business earnings.

Although obtaining funds and planting trees is certainly central to any restoration project, an education component is equally crucial. Before beginning our educational programs, we first had to acknowledge that firewood is essential for the survival of many families here. Until another energy source can be established, people will not and cannot stop cutting down trees, no matter how well they understand the negative impact. We found a way to incentivize smart forest management in the short term by enlisting men, women, and children of La Cuadrilla to work with our employees in pruning the trees on our property in exchange for firewood. So far, this has been very successful in educating the participants in proper tree care practices and has reduced the incidence of irresponsible tree cuttings.

The challenge: It is vital that we replace the energy needs of La Cuadrilla with a more sustainable energy source that does not damage the land, forest, or economy. Although Bachoco currently has a negative impact on our local ecology, we will need time and patience to change and modernize their practices. In the interim, we believe we have found a way to incorporate Bachoco as a positive force in our project. Our idea is to design and build a shared methane digester that utilizes surplus biomass from La Cuadrilla (manure, excess organic trash), the Hacienda (manure, excess organic trash), and Bachoco (manure and dead chickens). The methane digester system would ideally provide its participants with a sufficient supply of methane to make participation worthwhile, and hopefully eliminate the need to cut trees for firewood. The idea is still in its planning phase, however, we have already begun work with Salvemos a Rio Laja to initiate a diagnostic needs assessment. Poultry methane conversion has been recently proven as a very effective source of savings for poultry companies in the United States and we are in touch with energy consultants from Bryce (a large poultry producer) to help in customizing both the assessment and design of our systems.