When there’s no water, there’s no work. And when there’s no work, there are no adult males — they all have to leave to earn money, to send home to their families. That’s how it was described to us by maestro mezcalero Eduardo Angeles of Lalocura in Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca. And it’s why he led his community to build dozens of water reservoirs around his community. Whenever you visit Minas, even during a drought, you’ll see farming because of those water reservoirs — even as neighboring communities are unable to farm.

That enormous impact on Santa Catarina Minas is what inspired us to develop a rain-harvest system in Santa Maria Ixcatlan. Maestro mezcalero Amando Alvarado Alvarez was speaking to us of that same problem: his small town of fewer than 500 people is getting smaller, because it is getting drier. Climate change has made the rare rains rarer still.

Funded entirely by agave enthusiasts, in 2022 we built a rain-harvest system in Ixcatlan. It was one of the projects highlighted by Thrillist. The project was managed by Vinik Jure of Expresiones Bioculturales A.C. and designed and implemented by Mixterra. It was completed in 2022 and will be operational soon, just awaiting the transition of the municipal government.

Vamonos Riendo Mezcal came to us, in 2020, looking to fund 100% of a project, and here, too, we landed on water security. Through our friends at SiKanda, Vamonos Riendo was able to fund a rain-harvest system at an elementary school in Zaachila, Oaxaca — the community from which we purchase the agave seedlings we gift to mezcaleros. To watch a video about that project, click here.

Our next water project was in San Isidro Guishe, in Miahuatlan, Oaxaca. Mezcalero Jose Garcia invited Pensador Mezcal, Expresiones Bioculturales A.C., and SACRED to join the community in developing a well and planning new approaches to water use that are more sustainable. That project was launched and completed in 2022. Great thanks to Jose Garcia and San Isidro Guishe for inviting us to participate; to Vinik Jure at Expresiones Bioculturales for managing the project, and to Mezcal Pensador for underwriting the venture.

In 2023, our friends at Cream Heroes supported Telesecundaria El Manantial — the middle school from which we purchase agave seedlings for our Replanting Agave program — in building a rain-harvest system. The school had started experiencing water insecurity in a way that put at risk their ability to continue germinating agave seeds. The system was completed that same year, and in 2024, Cream Heroes returned to support the school in the build-out of a greenhouse and nursery, and an irrigation system. These added elements have significantly improved the school’s germination rates.

Speaking of germination rates … the mezcaleros of Atempa, Guerrero, noticed the wild agave population was disappearing, largely due to climate change. Whereas the wild population had always been sustained by allowing the plants to go to seed, the reduction in rains had significantly reduced the germination rate of those seeds in the wild. So they came to us with a large well dig, greenhouse build, and irrigation construction. That project was funded by our generous friends at 818 Tequila. The project was surveyed in 2023, broke ground in March 2024, and was completed later that same year.

In 2025, 818 Tequila has signed on for a second well project — this one in Chacala, Jalisco. In addition to a well, the community will also construct a rain-harvest system, to create a dual solution to the water insecurity for the 350-ish people living here. Work is just beginning on this project in May 2025. Follow us on Instagram to monitor progress.

When people talk about “giving back,” it feels like they are using the wrong words. We’re all one community, and we participate together to make this global community more livable. We’re honored to be welcomed by these communities.