Xoconostle, the wonder cactus...

by Betsy Power

From the moment Yunuen sent me the hand drawn map of how to arrive to the family’s hacienda, I knew this visit would be an adventure. Turn at kilometer marker 107, find the concrete-paved road across from the butcher shop, if we get lost ask anyone along the way. “Everyone knows Hacienda del Marquis.” We didn’t get lost, but we asked anyway. And it is true, everyone knew where we were headed.

Xoxoc is a small family business with a huge heart and an even larger vision. I was introduced to them briefly in March when their beautiful product jumped out at me during a food show in Guadalajara. Over the next several months as we worked together to prepare their product for export to the US market, I came to truly appreciate the honest and efficient folks behind this company. And now that they had invited me into their home and their world, I have been humbled by what they have accomplished for their community.

The company was founded by Isabella, her two sons, Gabriel and Antonio, and her daughter-in-law (well not officially, but close enough) Yunuen. Isabella is the mastermind behind the unique Xoxoc products, Gabriel and Antonio are the bones of the company, while Yunuen is the company’s advocate – creating an image that reflects the company’s values and getting the word out to the wider world.

As Kristin, my travel mate, and I rolled up to the beautiful 300-year old hacienda surrounded by acres of cactus, I began to understand how connected these people were to their history and the traditions of the land. The home in which they live has been mostly untouched by modern conveniences. There is no heat and only a small amount of electricity that comes from a solar panel on the roof. The walls of the grain hall still hold the dark shadows left behind from years of harvests – piles of corn that were used as food and currency. The flower and fig tree filled courtyard is surrounded by an outdoor hallway where swarms of birds bed down each night. And the 2-foot thick walls and 20-foot ceilings enclose you into a bygone world.

Over a dinner of quesadillas made with local cheeses, vegetables, and a heavenly xoconostle salsa, we began to learn of the vision behind Xoxoc. This land was once a major producer of Pulque, a favorite fermented alcohol produced from the Maguey plant. But in the mid 1900’s when beer became popular, the maguey plants were left to die and the local economy along with them. Over subsequent years, many of the region’s men left to look for income elsewhere, and devastating erosion washed away the deserted fields.

The rough landscape that has been left behind seems to hold little hope and lots of cactus. There are over 300 types of nopal or cactus, many of them producing a sweet edible fruit. Of these, only nine are considered Xoconostle due to the acidity of their fruit and the location of their seeds (in the center as opposed to spread throughout the fruit). It is the fruit of the xoconostle that the folks at Xoxoc are betting on to save their community and the land.

They have convinced farmers from three surrounding towns to plant xoconostle, promising to purchase their harvest at a fair price. Their efforts have not only begun to revive the local economy, and bring hope back to the community, but it has begun to reverse some of the erosion that has devastated the land.

With initial funding from the government they have built a small facility using local materials and labor and relying on the power of the sun and gravity to help process their product. With the help of local women (in a community where there is very little hope of employment), they peel, cut, sun-dry, and cook the xoconostle to prepare it for market. Although they began with only several flavors of dried prickly pear, they are now developing many new products – many of which, I am excited to announce, we will be introducing to the US market in 2008.

Before breakfast on the morning of our departure, Gabriel came in search of us carrying several odd long metal rods. A man of few words, he motioned for us to follow him. As we carefully picked our way through the stone-wall enclosed cactus gardens behind the hacienda, Gabriel demonstrated how to use the rods to safely pick the ripe prickly pears that protrude in reds and greens off every cactus. Once we had filled a bucket, he guided us back to our safe haven (if you have ever tried to wander through a grove of cactus, you will understand my continued emphasis on safe maneuvering). After scrubbing off the deadly daggers from each fruit, he peeled them and set them out alongside a colossal breakfast being prepared by Yunuen and Isabella.

As we feasted on pancakes (supposedly a local favorite) with xoconostle marmalade and xoconostle syrup, they spoke of their dreams for the company, the women that work with them, and their community. They are already well on their way, having been invited, in 2007, to Terra Madre in Turin to accept a Slow Food award. And this is only just the beginning. Check back with us in early 2008 to find more Xoxoc products.