Friday, January 21, 2011

A Mayan Dream

It’s not often that one can witness the opening sequence of a dream, but Nancy and I had that opportunity when we visited Luum Ayni (pronounced Lume Ay-nee), a combination of Mayan and Quechuan (indigenous Peruvian) terms for Tierra de la Armonia, "Land of Harmony."

For several years, Austrian-born yoga therapist Lisa Hernández and her Swiss-Peruvian designer husband César Hernandez, owned Elements of the Island, a restaurant and yoga studio here on Isla Mujeres. Nancy and I often attended Lisa’s yoga classes in the big open-air palapa above the little restaurant. Back in Minneapolis, we practice to her yoga DVD 2-3 times a week, transported back to the Caribbean beach.

Three years ago, Lisa and César bought 400 undeveloped acres of jungle in the Yucatan Peninsula, started attending workshops in agriculture, and studied with a traditional Mayan medicine man. Last year, they left their successful business to follow their dream—living amidst the Maya and operating a farm that honors the ancient traditions of Mayan agriculture while employing cutting edge sustainable permaculture practices.

Three months ago, Lisa and César bought a small cattle farm near the colonial city of Valladolid, two hours west of Cancun but just up the road from their own land. The farm already has the infrastructure for their dream (wells, electricity, buildings, and mature fruit trees), shaving off seven years of work.

They are now renovating the existing house, replacing the thatched palapa with a roof that will support solar panels. Next month Lisa and César will leave their house in the nearby village, Chichimilá, where they have been trying out eco-technologies such as a composting toilet, greywater system, and rainwater collection. Their experimental garden of nearly 100 plants and herbs is a little nursery and seed bank for the plants they want to grow on the ranch.

Next to the huge, deep swimming pool, which will double as a reservoir for irrigation during the long dry season, Lisa and César are building two guest rooms. A concrete pig barn is destined to be guest quarters, and the cattle barn will be transformed into a classroom and yoga studio. They use local and recycled material as much as possible. Eventually, through solar and wind power, Luum Ayni will be totally energy self-sufficient.

Meanwhile, their tierra armonia is providing avocados, limes, mangos, oranges, papayas, bananas, and herbs. Much of the current water-hungry lawn will be planted in practical crops and medicinal plants. They will avoid monoculture, letting the mix of plants nurture and protect each other. This approach resembles the Costa Rican biodynamic farm we fell in love with two years ago (See our Luna Nueva blog post.)

Lisa and César are hard workers and will accomplish much in the coming year. Their appreciation of Mayan culture is palpable, and their vision of incorporating that ancient wisdom into their modern dream is inspiring. We wish them the best!

Becky

No comments: