Territories · Where we work
Three territories, one valley
We care for the valley from three connected territories — each protects a different piece of the Cuatro Ciénegas ecosystem.
Territories · Where we work
We care for the valley from three connected territories — each protects a different piece of the Cuatro Ciénegas ecosystem.
El Santuario Reserva El Cañón Rancho Agroecológico San Isidro Poza Azul Río San Marcos Las Playitas Dunas de Yeso Pozas Azules Mina de Mármol Satellite imagery: Google Earth Tap a point to jump to each reserve.
In 2025 we opened the gates of the El Santuario reserve to welcome a founding herd of 47 American bison, in alliance with the N'dee/N'nee/Ndé (Apache) Nation, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN), Cuenca Los Ojos, and the Museo del Desierto. The bison returned to this valley after more than 100 years away.
Every day, the herd does work no machine can replicate: its grazing breaks the soil's crust, spreads seeds, and lets rainwater soak in instead of running off. A healthy grassland recharges the aquifer — the same one that feeds the turquoise pools that make Cuatro Ciénegas unique.
We work in alliance with the Ndé Nation so that the herd is managed in a culturally grounded way, strengthening a biocultural legacy that was nearly lost along with the bison.
Regenerative agriculture is a way of producing food that leaves the land better than it found it: more fertile soil, more water soaking in, more biodiversity. At our 44-hectare center in the Cuatro Ciénegas ejido we prove it in practice — producing, teaching, and measuring the results.
Here we produce pasture-raised eggs, artisanal goat dairy, honey and produce, and we harvest desert mesquite. With compost, vermicompost, and biofertilizers we bring the soil back to life.
The center works as an open-air school for the region: courses and workshops on organic farming and water conservation, internships and volunteering, and joint work with local schools such as CBTa #22.*
For generations, El Cañón was the heart of leisure for the families of Cuatro Ciénegas: the river, the shade, the picnics. Overexploitation of the aquifer dried up the springs that fed it, and with the water went the life around it.
Today we're working to bring it back: soil-and-water conservation works, biological corridors with reintroduction of native species, biodiversity monitoring, and natural regeneration of the canyon's vegetation.
In the coming years*, El Cañón will open its trails: hiking, mountain biking, rappelling, birdwatching, and stargazing nights — all with clear limits to protect what's been recovered.
* Figures to be verified before launch.