Water equipment for palenque construction

David Rivera is a talented 24-year-old mezcalero in Santa Maria Ixcatlan that Maguey Melate had the pleasure of featuring in our Mezcalero of the Month Club for January 2020. Meet David and learn about his challenges through a series of interview videos at magueymelate.com/david* 

David's profession as an artisanal mezcalero faces many challenges such as agave availability, water security, and the financial burden of renting a palenque (distillery).

Maguey Melate has donated 500 Tobala plants to David and another $500 dollars towards a larger water project in his village both through the non-profit SACRED .

Now we are trying to raise the money he needs to finish the construction of his own palenque which requires the purchase of two water tanks, electric pumps, plumbing, and a filtration system as well as support in the installation of this equipment. 

With his own palenque, David will overnight be nearly 20-30% more profitable. This will allow him to be more competitive in his market and especially against industrial mezcal facilities that do not have the added challenge of lacking access to capital. Moreover, with a palenque of his own, David will be better able to continue the traditions of his ancestors in exactly the way they produced this agave spirit, without needing to alter the recipe or process in any way to remain competitive.

David respectfully rejected our initial offer of having our club members loan him the entire cost of building his palenque because he couldn't stand the idea of not having the means to repay the 0% loan if the market turned unfavorable. He went ahead and built half the palenque on his own this January including cowhide fermentation vats, brick ovens for the stills, a 10 foot Earth oven for cooking the agave, and a tin roof to cover the hides. Now we are stepping in to help finance the water equipment that he must buy from a store and cannot build himself.

This equipment in combination with access to the water itself and 500 new plants will give David a huge boost in his young career and securing his spot as one of his villages few independent producers. 

Anyone who donates $50 or more, David will save a liter from the first batch ever made in his new palenque. This will need to be picked up in person from his palenque someday or from the Maguey Melate headquarters in Oaxaca centro. We'll hang onto it for as many years as it takes for you to pick it up ;) 

On behalf of David - "Gracias!"