Meet Mariana Silva | Farmer and protector of nature

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mariana Silva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mariana, what do you attribute your success to?

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Professionally, I am still learning and growing. It has not been easy because although I grew up here on this hacienda surrounded by fields, I really did not know anything about hotels or agriculture. I studied filmmaking, and I worked on the field for 15 years; this career gave me the facility to do what I do today, which is to develop myself within a range of specialties. My learning has been more empirical. Today I am in charge of the hotel as manager, and at the same time I supervise the sowing of 36 hectares. I do the creative part of the development of gastronomic festivals, and document with still photos all what is taking place here.
Our greater challenge is to become more sustainable year by year, so we are always generating new projects that could help us achieve it. For example, implementations of farm animals in crop fields, the manufacture of organic products such as biofertilizers, the planting of medicinal herbs and their use within our restaurant and store. Something new that we are working on is “regenerative agriculture” or “agroforestry” in our vegetable garden.
With all this, we really hope our visitors see us as a positive example of the new forms of life that the planet urgently needs.
Taking better care of the soil, not only has giving us the opportunity to offer workshops on agriculture, gastronomy, personal health retreats, gastronomic festivals, sale of products to restaurants and points of sale in the city; but also, has shows us how when the earth is well taking care of it generates health that benefits all of us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of the best and most beautiful experiences in this area is to visit it during the rainy season, and spend a few days with us. The first day we take you up to the mountains looking for wild mushrooms, guided by the expert women of the nearby towns that carried all the ancestral knowledge of the region, and enjoy a delicious picnic in the middle of the forest, just to be treated the following day with a fabulous meal created by the guest chef, such as Eduardo García from Máximo Bistrot, who comes every year to cook with wild mushrooms, vegetables and animals from our garden and farm, making it a unique farm-to-table experience. Every morning, our breakfast with our house made bread, cream from our cow and jam from our fruit trees, will provide you with the energy to go for a horse-ride around the fields surrounded by mountains and mexican landscapes. On the last day, to close with a flourish, what about getting pampered with a personal health therapy, with a temazcal bath, medicinal herbs and massage.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Nothing is definitely a coincidence, each person, each event in our life is perfect. In my case I can talk about several people who influence who I am today, in the decisions I have made; from my grandparents and the strength they all had from their different trenches, and their good or not so good ways of educating my parents. In addition to my ancestors and sisters, my relationship with my husband and my children has been essential in the decisions I have made over the last 10 years. The decision to return to live in the countryside was right after my first child was born. The scenario that my daughter would not grow up experiencing nature, harvesting our food and being complety free, was not an option. I grew up in this field, near the Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes, and I wanted my family to be able to experience the same I did. The presence of these mountains greatly influenced this close bond that I feel with life in nature.
It seems to me that something that can really change our history and i would make us a better species is to reconnect with nature; all the answers that our society is crying out for are right there, but unfortunately we make so much noise that we cannot listen to it.

Website: www.sanandreshacienda.com

Instagram: @haciendasanandres

Image Credits
1-2 Mariana Silva 3 Ana La Framboise 4-6 Mariana Silva 7 Fernanda Orona