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Our First Project to bring the back bees to the Yucatan Peninsula.
Today, bees are the most exposed species to pesticides in the world, and they are one of the most critical pieces in the creation of our produce. Gonzalo’s sanctuary would be situated in the middle of the jungle, away from any form of pesticide. This project touched a heartstring, and right there and then, we knew we had to get involved. We learned that the native Melipona Bee has traditionally been used by the Mayan people to harvest an extremely potent, medicinal Honey. Its extinction could mean a huge loss in this medicine, but also in tradition.
Flamingo Estate will be supporting a new Bee Sanctuary in Mestiza de Indias, which will employ the local community and pass on Indigenous knowledge, culminating in a Honey you’ll be able to taste. I grew up harvesting Honey at my parents farm in Australia, and Honey continues to be the heartbeat of Flamingo Estate. And green pioneers like Gonzalo remind us why we do it in the first place.
“For me, that’s the meaning: to reconnect with nature and have the feeling that you are contributing to a bigger sense of life. A bigger purpose.”
– Gonzalo Samaranch Granados, CEO & FOUNDER MESTIZA DE INDIAS
We spoke to Gonzalo Samaranch Granados, founder of Mestiza de Indias, about how he found himself living and farming in the Yucatán. Here is part of our conversation from The Guide to Becoming Alive.
Richard: Gonzalo, you’re calling me from your farm, in the middle of eight hundred acres of the thickest jungle I’ve ever seen. I love your place so much.
Gonzalo: Yes! It was nice to see you here last month.
The farm is in the middle of the jungle, which makes it too far for any bee or pollinator to reach, right? So there’s no chance of any chemical contamination.
That’s right. The jungle protects us.
I still have nightmares about the snakes we saw, but aside from that, I can’t get your farm out of my head. I’ve never seen anything like it. How did it come about?
I wanted to build my little utopia. I had been living in Barcelona, Spain — I’m Catalan. I was feeling empty with the idea of success by the modern definition. In First World countries, success is always related to money.
And for you?
Before I came to Mexico, I was a journalist and art dealer. I had everything that people told me was “success,” but I was so deeply unhappy.
And then what happened?
I had the opportunity to live for a year in an Indigenous community in the Amazonian jungle in Brazil. I saw a group of people living in nature, and I felt their genuine happiness. It transformed me.
How did you get from the Amazon to Mexico?
It took me a while to internalize my experience in the Amazonian jungle, but one day I decided to sell my stuff, and I left. I met a Mexican guy in Costa Rica who told me about the farms in Mexico, and I did not hesitate. I fell in love with Yucatán. Maybe because of the Spanish influence mixed with the Mayan culture. This mix, I thought, had such a richness.
The conditions here in this area are really tough for agriculture. Many farm projects failed because they were using mainstream techniques from other states. This is a special area with a very unique soil and weather. Without the ancient knowledge of the Mayan techniques, it was impossible.
In a sense, the Mayan people were practicing regenerative agriculture long before we even knew about that word.
Yes, in the old times. I always say one of the things that impressed me about Mexico is these two cultures — the Aztec culture and Mayan culture. They created the most innovative food production system in human history. Mexico City was the biggest city in the world when the Spanish came, and the Aztecs had to feed all these people. So they created artificial islands around the lake and began planting there. It’s unbelievable. All the plants were in contact with the water so they didn’t have to water them each day. On the other hand, ancient Mayans were producing food in their solar maya (backyards).
You told me that fruits and vegetables with delicate skin are in danger of extinction because they can’t be transported long distances in boxes. So globally we’ve stopped tasting varieties of things that can’t withstand globalization. Ingredients with thin skin are being lost.
The main purpose of the food industry is to make money, not to feed the world the best tastes, so I just wanted to rescue things that can disappear and offer chefs the possibility of something very local. Why taste the same things here, in Paris, and in Barcelona? The same fruits and vegetables. That makes no sense to me. So I started growing varieties that are endangered or close to extinction.
It’s such a simple but radical idea.
Rescuing these foods was important. But I’m trying to take off the blinders to show people how disconnected we are from nature, from what we eat. I wanted to be a little disruptive and show them that there is something else.
What are some of the other things you‘ve been growing that you‘re really proud of?
Endangered varieties of heirloom fruits and vegetables like native Beans, African Cucumbers, Red African Okra, Winged Beans from India, Kamo Eggplant or Kuroda Carrots from Japan, and of course our main crops: incredible varieties of Tomatoes. All colors and flavors.
And Corn?
Yes. We planted an heirloom Corn from Yucatán. Many farmers were using hybrid Corn given by the government. That’s unbelievable because we had the most amazing Corn in Mexico. We’re bringing back the most interesting varieties.