Manuel de los Venados

Mother deer with her fawn

Manuel Poot Hau never realized how his life would change when Hurricane Wilma swept through his pueblo of Nuevo Durango in 2005.  As a result of the fierce storms, many wild animals, like ocelots, began to emerge from the jungle and torment the town's chicken population.  He built several enclosures and captured the animals, which solved the problem until the National Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA) arrived to tell him his was not licensed to keep such animals and removed them.  However, another opportunity was presented to him: he could complete paperwork and become a registered sanctuary for White Tail Deer, which is a protected species in the region.

Seven years later, Manuel's property has blossomed into a wildlife sanctuary and farming project.  Children and adults come to admire his community of deer, which has grown to more than twenty.  He hopes to instill in them a love for wildlife and an awareness of the beauty of the deer, which is still a hunted species.  "Even the men in the town who hunt will sometimes come here and see the baby deer with his mom and then they will understand the animal more, feel a connection"  he explains.    
Sometimes individuals will come to Manuel to buy a deer.  He makes sure that each buyer has a reputable nature sanctuary for the animal and they are not just buying it for food.

Mucuna seeds saved from earlier in the season

Manuel with pineapples grown from his grandmother's seeds

Just beyond the deer enclosures, Manuel has an extensive garden, which includes many native species of both medicinal and edible plants.  He shows us a field of pineapples, which are a heritage variety that was cultivated by his grandmother more than 46 years ago.  Each year, she saved the seeds and eventually passed them on to Manuel.  There's a large avocado tree, three types of corn, and several varieties of sweet potato.  Manuel is also growing a type of Mucuna, a legume whose pods will help produce a rich compost.  Nearby, Manuel points our a Dzidzilche tree which he has planted.  In less than a year, it will be covered with thousands of white flowers and is known to produce some of the best honey in the world.  Nearby, Manuel's  beehives are buzzing.      

Watering system on a young Ramon

In a field behind the property, Manuel has planted 3,600 Ramon trees (breadnut).  The small orange fruit tastes somewhat sour.  The seed inside can be  ground and used to make bread or a type of porridge.  He shows us an irrigation system that is created by nesting a smaller plastic bottle inside of a larger one.  When the water heats up, it evaporates and condenses, eventually dripping on the soil.  The best part of this system, it's free and recycles plastic bottles!  Manuel uses this system in many parts of his garden, including his Ramon field.  One morning, he found that nearly all of the bottles had been removed, likely by a mischievous coati, an animal related to the raccoon.

Recycling Station

In the middle of Manuel's garden, is a large newly-constructed cistern which will collect all of the rainwater that falls on the property.  In this way, he will be able to water his crops year-round.  "Things aren't the way they used to be.  At the beginning of each year, the elders used to know very well when it was going to rain and how much.  Now, not even the TV broadcast can predict the weather for the next three days."  Manuel told us.  He watched his grandfather save water in recycled rain barrels for years.  His cistern is a much more modern, efficiently-designed system based upon the same principle:  water means life for his plants and food for his family.  Nearby, a large pig grunts.  The pig will be Manuel's gift to Nuevo Durango in December when the entire village celebrates the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Water Collection System

Manuel's Pig for December 12th

               Seed Starting Trays

Closer to his house, Manuel has several raised beds, where he grows herbs, peppers, and tomatoes.   Several habanero peppers are ripe and ready for harvesting.  Small trays in the shade of the bananas house newly germinating seeds.  As we leave Manuel's, we make plans to go together tomorrow to a permaculture project, about an hour away in Chichimila.  In addition to caring for his deer and running a large farm, Manuel is a "taxi driver" when his friends and neighbors need him.  Never a moment to rest for Manuel in Nuevo Durango!

Walking back to town with our guide, Jose