Hacienda Xixim

Hacienda Xixim (she-sheem) is a bamboo plantation with a past that reaches back into the late 1500s, shortly after the Spanish conquered the Mayans. At its height, Xixim covered tens of thousands of acres and had more than 3,000 workers. (Xixim in Maya means “seashell.”)

Bob Gow

When Bob Gow, a Houston millionaire and friend and business partner of George H. W. Bush, first laid eyes on it more than 20 years ago, the once thriving henequen operation had closed, its buildings had fallen into disrepair and the land had shrunk to a little over 1,000 acres. He was driving around the countryside outside of the city of Muna, south of Merida, looking for a hacienda to buy. The insignificant dirt road he was on passed a trail leading into the low jungle. Curious about what was at the end of the trail, Bob turned onto it. At the end of the trail sat the remains of the factory, worker houses and a sizeable main house, all being swallowed by the surrounding forest.

(Historical note: The fiber of the henequen plant was manufactured into twine and rope, used in ship riggings, string, sacks, rugs, and many other things. It became known as sisal rope, named after the seaside town of Sisal, from where the rope was shipped. In the late 19^th century, the henequen industry grew to unprecedented power in the Yucatan. At one point, Merida, Yucatan’s capitol, had more millionaires than any other city in the world. Hundreds of haciendas prospered until the advent of synthetic products after World War II and the cultivation of henequen in other parts of the world.)

Bob was told by the on-site caretaker that the hacienda was owned by three Merida women, all in their 90s. He rushed into the city, not wanting to waste a second given the owners’ ages and struck a deal.

Since owning the hacienda, Bob has raised bees and promoted the development of what is now a vibrant Yucatacan honey industry. He also created a fish farm, introducing tilapia to the local palette. Over 10 years ago he imported a thick-walled, extremely strong bamboo from India.  Today, Xixim creates furniture, fencing, buildings, palapas, picture frames, and charcoal from its bamboo. Some of it is shipped to the U.S. to three bicycle manufacturers who build bamboo bicycles.

Over the past 20+ years Bob has refurbished the main house and its out-buildings.  Now he has opened the hacienda to guests.

Dee and I, along with our neighbors Hank and Sunny, recently spent a day visiting Bob.

The bougainvillea-covered factory building.

The bamboo grows in clumps and is
harvested from the inside out.

 





Harvested bamboo.



A primative but effective method for creating charcoal.



A guest house and the pool.

A guest bedroom in the main house.

The front porch/veranda with Toby sniffing
 near tangerine trees.



Virtually all of Xixim's furniture was made
out of the hacienda's bamboo.

 

 

 

 

Halloween Oct. 2012


Halloween is a new but not foreign concept to the students that we help teach in the free English classes in Chuburna. While most of the students are young, school-aged, we have a few who are parents and grandmothers. (All of the elder students are females.)

 Halloween occurs just a day before Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a very important and mostly religious celebration of those who have died. More about that in another Missive. The Norte Americanos’ celebration around the same time allows the students to thoroughly enjoy the foolishness of Halloween, the anticipation of being scared and in creating some sort of costume.

 In the classes leading up to Halloween we introduce English Halloween words—pumpkin (calabaza), ghost (fantasma), skeleton (esqueleto), witch (bruja) and the very important phrase: Trick or Treat (Truco o Dulces). The latter is needed because on a special night close to actual Halloween, but not on it due to a clash with religious services surrounding Dia de los Muertos, we take the students trick or treating at the homes of volunteer Gringos.

We gather at the church after dark and the kids bumble into the gathered Gringo vehicles. This year seven cars drove in various waves to the 15 homes. Dee, green-skinned and scary as she was, managed to have a carload of students by the time she arrived here.

 

I had the porch lights off, eerie Halloween music up loud on the computer (Internet radio station), a candle-lit coconut “head” sitting on a table beside the front door, which was closed.  The kids inched up onto the porch. “Trick or treat” they said, as best they could. The door remained closed. They stood in the candle-lit darkness.

 After a sufficient pause I flicked on the lights, ripped open the door and pounced out at them with growl. My blonde wig, blackened lips and eyes, half-mask of a long, warted nose and crouched gait sent them screaming backwards. Oh, what joy!!!

 At another house the kids were frightened by a “ghost” that flew past them as they approached the door. The “ghost” had been mounted on a zip-line so that it came at them. Another Gringo had a “bloody head” lying on a table. It had been “severed” with a machete. Amazing what a well-carved calabaza will do to scare someone who hasn’t seen one.

 Everyone had a wonderful time. Next up is Christmas caroling for the Gringos door-to-door.

Sunny Snow, our neighbor and the head of the Chuburna Free English School.



The skeleton is Dorothy Kaytor, a Canadian Gringo.