NOT in the POD - Hennequin Hacienda

one of the many verandas at the hacienda

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Yesterday was spent in the countryside outside of Merida - sometimes getting lost on tiny potholed backroads and sometimes not. It was another beautiful day filled with great sights and lots of historical learnings - my favorite kind of day! 

We started early and headed to Souta de Peon - a working hennequin plantation built in the 1800’s. After the hennequin trade died out early in the 1900’s the hacienda and fields were abandoned and fell into disrepair. Bought in the mid 80’s this hacienda has now been restored to its original grandeur and the fields have been replanted and now create jobs and sisal for local use and sale.

the grounds around the hacienda

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Learning about the growing and processing of the white agave plant (hennequin) was fascinating!

Blue agave is used in making tequila, green agave is used for mescal and the white agave, know for its sturdy, fibrous spines is used to make sisal. 

Once established hennequin plants live for 25 years. They produce their own "pups" (babies) which pop up next to the larger plant and are cut from the mother plant and can easily be planted elsewhere. 

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hennequin fields

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hennequin processing - stage 1

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The spines of the hennequin plant are loaded on a conveyor belt up to the machine that crushes them. Only 20 spines from each plant can be cut in a single year. 

hennequin processing - stage 2

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Workers lay out the spines in a single layer to roll through the machinery.

The runoff of pulp and liquid from the crushing process is saved to feed cattle and to fertilize the fields.

Fibers emerge from the other side of the machinery

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The runoff of pulp and liquid from the crushing process is saved to feed cattle and to fertilize the fields. Each one of these tied bundles is approximately 8 spines…. there is a LOT of fiber in each spine!

The fibers are dried in the sun for around 3 hours.

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 hennequin fibers dried and pressed into bales

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Once dried the fibers are laid in huge bundles that are pressed together and tied in bales for shipment. During the heyday of the hennequin trade only the raw material - processed and dried - was shipped for final finishing and production elsewhere. The final finishing was done locally only for immediate use such as the ropes needed to tie the bales for shipment.

In  order to finish the dried raw material it first had to be "combed". 

Tim hard at work

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Tim nobly volunteered to try his hand at the combing process! Once combed the fibers could be twisted - by machine or by hand - to make rope of all sizes. It could also be woven into a rough burlap-like cloth for bags, coverings, etc. Luckily, Tim was not a Mayan forced into servitude at the hands of the Spaniards who originally ran this hacienda (there were approximately 1,000 "workers"!). For his efforts he was given the rope he ended up making!

Then it was time for a mule tour of the fields and a refreshing dip! This hacienda had 8 cenotes (underground lakes) on the grounds - one of which was open to the public. WOW! Down a series of steps - maybe 3 flights? - there was a cave complete with stalactites, open “skylights” to the world above, and pristine waters to swim in!

Donna and I in the cenote!

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And then, as if it could not get any better, ..... a bar! 

Cheers!

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Tim and I on top of the Great Pyramid, Uxmal

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