Our personal story 

We began Tierra del Sol as a life project in 2001, after working for several years with the indigenous communities of Pueblos Mancomunados in the Sierra Norte region of Oaxaca, helping in the design and implementation of their eco-tourism project.  We were deeply inspired by the simple, self-reliant and responsible life-style of the Zapotec mountain communities, who have maintained their traditions and their well-preserved forests over centuries.

When we began the construction of Tierra del Sol in 2001, we did not have any previous experience in growing food, in green building techniques or other topics related to homesteading.  We were both educated according to the values of modern society and we were at home in our urban environment... Adriana was the manager of a travel agency in Oaxaca City and Pablo was a pilot for Mexicana Airlines.  The values of the indigenous communities of the Pueblos Mancomunados gradually changed our view of the world and altered our priorities.   The time came when we felt that the best path to continue learning and contributing to a more just and sustainable society was through personal transformation, taking on a life-style that would incorporate the principles of self-sufficiency, interdependence and responsibility that we learned from the indigenous communities in the mountains.  Now we live full-time at our farm, dedicating ourselves to walk the never-ending path towards sustainable-living and learning the lessons this experience offers us every day.

The project functions through the contribution of a varied group of people and of countless living beings that work with no other interest than to do what is necessary to maintain life. That is why we do not see ourselves as "owners" of Tierra del Sol, but rather as stewards of this land, which is involved in a long process of evolution beyond the concepts and human intentions, which are necessarily temporary and limited.  Some day we will leave, but the land and its vibrant living community will hopefully remain here.  Our mission is to preserve the sacred elements of nature that have been temporarily entrusted to us.  We can not do much more than that… but we do not want to do less. 

...wanting good government in their states, they first stablished order in their own families; wanting order in the home, they first disciplined themselves...

Confucius, The Great Digest (from a quote in Wendell Berry´s book, The Unsettling of America)