If you ever find yourself in the Yucatán Peninsula, be sure to spend a few days inland at The Haciendas. Just thirty minutes outside Mérida, this spot is worth the visit for the backstory alone. Until you get a chance to take a trip for yourself, we invite you to sit back, grab a margarita, and let us regale you with the abridged version:

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Back in the 16th century, these haciendas were pretty much the hub for industry in the area – farming, manufacturing, you name it. It all happened here.    

Fast forward a few hundred years, and things looked pretty different. As in, these palatial estates became miniature ghost towns as those industries declined in Mexico.  

Enter Roberto Hernandez - a man with a vision to turn these abandoned haciendas into luxury hotels, revitalizing the local community along the way.

Today, the Fundación Haciendas del Mundo Maya is carrying on that vision by extending the impact to housing, health, and education improvements in the communities near the haciendas.

We got to see their progress firsthand when we visited one of the community libraries set up for our artisan partners and their children. To support this initiative, we teamed up with Public-Supply to create a journal that gives 25% of proceeds back into these community libraries.