Cultivating what the land already knows

A biocultural reserve and living laboratory in Yucatán.

Mestiza de Indias cultivates food biodiversity, restores soil and connects Maya knowledge, regenerative agriculture, research and hospitality in San Pedro Chenchelá, Espita.

Work with Mestiza Discover the project

Since 2015Established in 2015

220 haSan Pedro Chenchelá

115Varieties recovered

70%Maya women on the 2025 team

Purpose and essence

Where farming, culture and science meet.

Mestiza de Indias restores soil, seeds and agricultural knowledge to build a closer relationship between the land, Maya communities and the hospitality industry of the region.

Territory

220 hectares in San Pedro Chenchelá, shaped by forest, water and living soil.

Biodiversity

Local varieties, rare species and resilient agricultural systems.

Community

Dignified work, Maya knowledge and long-term relationships.

Gastronomy

Crops planned with chefs and kitchens across the peninsula.

Research

A biocultural laboratory built to conserve and share knowledge.

Aerial view of cultivated plots surrounded by forest in San Pedro Chenchelá

Territory and origin

Yucatán imports food while losing part of its farming heritage.

Tourism opened access to high-value markets, while migration, the abandonment of home gardens and the loss of seeds weakened local food systems. Mestiza works to return part of that value to the land.

San Pedro Chenchelá · Espita Biocultural reserve Grown without synthetic agrochemicals

1,500+ kmFormer external supply routes

Under 130 kmLocal production to Riviera Maya

How the model works

From landscape to kitchen—and back again.

Conservation, production, community, research and gastronomy form one chain. Each stage supports the next.

01
Recover
Seeds, tropical species, recipes and knowledge that are at risk of disappearing.
02
Cultivate
Rotation, composting and agrochemical-free farming that rebuild fertility and resilience.
03
Connect
Seasons and supply planned with chefs, hotels and restaurants across the peninsula.
04
Redistribute
Economic activity that supports jobs, farming families, conservation and new possibilities.

2025 impact

Impact, grounded in numbers.

115

Varieties recovered and cultivated since the project began.

Rare species preserved within the agricultural landscape.

70%

Of the team are women from Maya communities.

Farming families connected to formal value chains.

1.39 t

Of CO₂ avoided per trip compared with previous supply routes.

180

People joined agro-gastronomic experiences during 2025.

Biocultural reserve
Yucatán, Mexico

No synthetic
agrochemicals

Since
2015

Indicators reported in the 2025 Sustainability Report. Transport figures reflect the route comparison described in that report.

Read the 2025 report

A living archive

Foods the market stopped looking for.

Agricultural diversity is also a library. Each variety carries an adaptation, a family memory and a possibility for contemporary cooking.

Roots and beets cultivated by Mestiza de Indias

Cultivated diversity

Colours, shapes and flavours that standardised supply chains often discard.

Varieties with a future

Each crop preserves an adaptation and opens a new possibility for contemporary cooking.

Melipona bees

Pollination, honey and living knowledge around native bees.

Recovered varieties

115 recovered varieties, documented as a living public record.

The archive records names, seasons, uses and ecological relationships. It currently shows only the entries supported by available project materials, and will grow as the full cultivation record is verified.

12verified public records of 115 reported varieties

Catalogue status: the 2025 Sustainability Report confirms 115 recovered and cultivated varieties, but does not publish the complete naming list. Last reviewed July 2026.

001

Flowers & aromatics

Maya vanilla

Vanilla planifolia

A focal research line for Na’at Lab and a symbol of Yucatán’s food biodiversity.

View details

Type: Vanilla
Season: Seasonal flowering
Use: Aromatic, culinary and genetic-conservation research
Status: Research and cultivation

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

002

Flowers & aromatics

Vanilla pod

Vanilla planifolia

The pod connects cultivation, pollination, curing and culinary use.

View details

Type: Vanilla
Season: After pollination and curing
Use: Aromatic ingredient
Status: Cultivated

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

003

Grains & seeds

Native corn

Zea mays

A foundational crop in the milpa and in recipes such as Kots’ob.

View details

Type: Milpa crop
Season: Rain-dependent
Use: Food culture and traditional recipes
Status: Recovered knowledge

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

004

Roots & tubers

Local sweet potatoes

Ipomoea batatas

The 2025 report documents five sweet potato varieties cultivated by Aurelio Batun Nahuat.

View details

Type: Five documented varieties
Season: Seasonal
Use: Fresh cooking and biodiversity conservation
Status: Cultivated with farming families

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

005

Roots & tubers

Jícama

Pachyrhizus erosus

A root crop adapted to seasonal cultivation in the peninsula.

View details

Type: Seasonal crop
Season: Seasonal
Use: Fresh and culinary
Status: Cultivated

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

006

Grains & seeds

Pumpkin and pepita

Cucurbita spp.

Pumpkin seed is one of the ingredients in Kots’ob, a Maya preparation shared during visits.

View details

Type: Milpa crop
Season: Seasonal
Use: Seed, fruit and traditional recipes
Status: Cultivated

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

007

Herbs & leaves

Hoja santa

Piper auritum

Aromatic leaf used in regional cooking and in the preparation of Kots’ob.

View details

Type: Native aromatic leaf
Season: Warm-season perennial
Use: Wrapping and seasoning
Status: Traditional use documented

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

008

Flowers & aromatics

Native edible flowers

Multiple species

Flowers create flavour, colour and habitat within a diversified agricultural landscape.

View details

Type: Cultivated biodiversity
Season: Varies by species
Use: Culinary and pollinator support
Status: Cultivated

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

009

Fruits & vegetables

Local tomatoes

Solanum lycopersicum

Local forms retain shapes and flavours that standardised supply chains often exclude.

View details

Type: Local selections
Season: Cooler growing period
Use: Fresh and culinary
Status: Cultivated

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

010

Fruits & vegetables

Native chiles

Capsicum spp.

Chile forms part of regional food culture and traditional preparations.

View details

Type: Regional selections
Season: Seasonal
Use: Seasoning and traditional recipes
Status: Traditional use documented

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

011

Fruit trees

Rare tropical fruits

Multiple species

Mestiza prioritises tropical species whose biological and cultural value is at risk of being overlooked.

View details

Type: Conservation collection
Season: Varies by species
Use: Fresh fruit, research and culinary development
Status: Rare species preserved

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

012

Flowers & aromatics

Melipona-associated flora

Multiple flowering species

Flowering diversity supports native bees, pollination and meliponiculture knowledge.

View details

Type: Pollinator habitat
Season: Year-round sequence
Use: Native bee forage
Status: Cultivated and conserved

Source: Mestiza de Indias 2025 Sustainability Report and public project materials

Women working with the harvest at Mestiza de Indias

Knowledge and community

Knowledge lives in people.

Mestiza works with women, young people and farming families so that knowledge about seeds, crops and recipes can continue to be practised, passed on and turned into income.

“My daughter dreams of becoming a lawyer, and the salary I receive makes it possible.”

Testimony recorded in the 2025 Sustainability Report

Hospitality and gastronomy

Crops planned with chefs across the peninsula.

The relationship begins before harvest. Seasons are planned, varieties are tested and experiences are built to explain the land through a plate.

Local supply

Fruit, vegetables, flowers, honey and varieties adapted to Yucatán’s climate.

Planning with chefs

Planting decisions based on season, menu, volume and what the land can genuinely sustain.

Culinary research

Underused ingredients, cultivation trials and new gastronomic applications.

Guest and team experiences

Field visits, meals and learning sessions shaped by each season.

Documented impact

Origin, varieties, distance, producers and outcomes linked to the collaboration.

Discuss a collaboration

Japanese turnip grown by Mestiza de Indias and served by a collaborating chef — From planting to plateThe relationship with a kitchen begins before harvest.

Dzidzilché Yucatán honey produced by Mestiza de Indias for Flamingo Estate — A tangible collaborationMestiza de Indias honey developed for Flamingo Estate.

Selected clients and collaborators, past and present

Hospitality

Culinary research

Conservation

Start a hospitality collaboration

Na’at Lab Salud Planetaria A.C.

Na’at

Research so biodiversity has a future.

Na’at Lab is the scientific and institutional dimension of the project. It researches, conserves and shares food biodiversity and regenerative systems across the Yucatán Peninsula.

Maya vanilla

Melipona bees

Genetic diversity

Soil health

Rare species