The Mountain

Towering behind the small town of El Gramal is The Mountain, a place of unique beauty that is the source of all we do. 

The mountainside agave fields sit between 2500ft-3000ft in elevation and are surrounded by rugged wilderness. The rainy season lashes the slopes with torrential downpours and the dry season brings high temperatures and an unforgiving sun. The dense vegetation on the mountain includes wild Tepeztate, Mexicano, Jabali, and Sierra Negra agaves, among others. The mountain is also home to a variety of fauna. Deer, coyotes, opossum, iguanas, chachalacas as well as a host of birds and bats inhabit its wild slopes. These resident creatures don’t just coexist with the agaves but live together in a symbiotic relationship where various species of birds and bats help to pollinate and propagate the agaves. For this reason we have begun to dedicate a number of our agaves per field to fully live out their life cycle by sprouting a quiote and flowering. This allows for the birds and bats to feed on their nectar and to pollinate their flowers.

Our magueyero partners have both been growing agave for all of their working lives, with generations of family working the land. Their methods of farming date back hundreds of years and are done entirely without the use of machinery or soil additives. In between harvests, the fields are left fallow and some of the land is used to grow crops. The system of soil preservation is a prehispanic regenerative practice called Milpa, where a rotation of mostly corn, squash and bean crops are harvested in succession to optimize soil health and crop yield. The bounty feeds the local families and the soil is replenished with minerals and nutrients lost while supporting the agaves.