PUERTO ESCONDIDO
OAX.
THE CULTURE
We believe in the necessity of symbiosis in food systems as a baseline for humanity's survival. Over the last century the world has compartmentalized production and distribution into what those in power would call an “efficient machine” misguiding society at every level and painting a picture of a bright and economically sound future.
This machine benefits few, yet many continue to follow the obscured path laid down by those before them, without really knowing where it leads, hoping that in their lifetime they will reach financial security and in turn “happiness”. The operators of this machine are just as blind, refusing to listen to the signals of falter continuing to push their herd forward with little regard for the impact the noisy beast makes along the way.
We are the outsiders, analyzing the machine, finding its holes and figuring out ways in which we can best mend them. Our objective is pure and simple, shun the mistakes of the past and build a dynamic future which benefits our planet and our communities.
All of our work, either in our projects or in our consulting efforts, is based in sustainable and ethical practices. We focus on local resources, where there is a gap in the chain we seek to repair it, bolstering infrastructure and creating an economy based on symbiosis. We use community as our compass, knowing that when the local economy is vibrant everyone in its ranks will flourish.
In 2018 we launched PIRATA in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, a fine dining restaurant working with a single organic farm and the few fishermen who come ashore each morning with the night's catch. Our goal is to explore what is possible working in complete symbiosis with our surroundings. Through deliberate work we created what we believe to be a beautiful reflection of our environment and our beliefs. Using only what's at hand we create a 10 course dining experience, expressing the coast through food and challenging our guests to open their minds to a new way of exploring food.
Through our work we solidified our theory that there was an error in the chain from soil to table. Farmers dedicated to practicing regenerative farming and tending to our earth, in the current system, received the least return on investment for their work rendering it nearly impossible for them to evolve. With our eyes set on revolution we created DE LA COSTA, a non profit organization aimed at building much needed infrastructure for the coastal farms of our region and creating a direct to consumer marketplace so that they may vend there products without intermediaries
VIANDA is our vision of the future, bridging the gap between local producers and our community while creating a vibrant economy based in fair pricing and social responsibility. Working with our network of local farmers we craft their beautiful products into fermented and preserved foods packaged in reusable containers. Our community can purchase these products with a one time deposit, bringing back their vessel each time to receive baseline product pricing. In our continued commitment to build a thriving community based economy we donate 100% of our profit from VIANDA to DE LA COSTA so that we may continue to aid our coast.
MILPA represents a way of life, allowing the earth to sustain us by living in harmony with its creations, following in the footsteps of our ancestors to return to homeostasis. This statement is our guide, as such we aim to instill positive change both in our planet and our community. Working solely with products from our local farmers we create a positive feedback loop of local economy that will build infrastructure to ensure a future for both our land and our society. The business is designed to create an exit from the model of wage slavery in traditional restaurant structure, by making our employee our partner and shifting majority ownership to their hands once the initial investment is paid back through profits. Our goal is to use this first location as a proving ground, drawing the map for a future based on mutual aid and opportunity in communities across Mexico, allowing the rightful owners of these lands to take the power back.
