PHASE 1
We are excited to announce that the first phase distillery is about to be completed. The first phase involves the construction of a 2561 square foot micro-distillery that will start at distilling 2000 liters per month, expanding to 4000L. For this phase, we have completed the roof, walls, underground oven, water lines, electric lines and have the floor poured. We have also installed burners, fermentation vats, and will be using a new double distillation copper still, the first one in Oaxaca. We hope to be fully operational within the next 2 weeks.
PHASE 2
The building of the Phase 2, larger distillery is projected to be completed in December or Janaury. This will be a 32,000 square foot, gravity-flow distillery with a capacity of 45,000 liters per month.
This facility will house a barrel room and hospitality center. We have just set the metal trusses and begun installing the metal roof
OAXACA DE JUAREZ
In Oaxaca City, we have leased a 4,500 square foot showroom and warehouse, where we have relocated our warehousing, bottling line, and lab. We have also secured the distribution rights to represent our artisanal copper still makers, who are based in Michoacan, for all of Oaxaca and Puebla. This new building will be used as a showroom for these copper pot stills. A successful open house event last week is already garnering clients. More updates on this as we secure purchase orders, but the goal is to have sales of stills cover the expense of this new warehouse.
We are farming 100 acres of agave farm with a total of 24 employees. At the beginning of May, we had close to 112,000 agaves planted at various stages of maturity. Unfortunately, drought and extreme heat in southern Mexico have been causing numerous wildfires in the region and we were struck on May 11. We had a fire at the ranch that burned about 25 acres of agaves, along with 35 acres of undeveloped land.
We were able to salvage 72 tons of agaves that we are in the process of having distilled by one of our contract distillers.
We plan to produce a special production run called Agave de Fuego, which means Agave of Fire, which tells the story of the agaves involved in the fire, which will hopefully be an opportunity to turn lemons into the proverbial lemonade.
While the fire was a minor setback, the rains have already replenished the land and we have begun replanting 2 year baby agaves from the nursery. In order to better contain future fires, we plan to purchase 10 five-thousand-liter mobile cisterns that we will be able to use to direct water at the property. We are also building dirt walls between various segments of the property so a fire in one quadrant can be better contained.
We currently have 12 varieties of Agave on the property:
1. Espadin
2. Cupreata
3. Sierra Negra
4. Tobala
5. Cuishe
6. Mexicano
7. Verde
8. Tepeztate
9. Tobaciche
10. Jabali
11. Espadilla
12. Coyote
The following are additional updates as they relate to agave production:
· We have certified our agaves with the AMMA, which is the governmental agency that is in charge of certifying agaves and authenticating their origin.
· We are working to have the agave farm and distillery certified organic.
· Implementation of pheromones to manage the most common beetle plague.
· Installation on 8 acres of irrigation and drip systems for the growth of new agaves.
· Acquisition of 50 Sheep that have now multiplied to 70 sheep for the use in the mitigation of grass as well as a source of manure for the agaves to create a fully regenerative farming operation.
· Construction of a barn for the caretaking and security of the sheep.
· Planted 70,000 new baby agaves from 3 varieties
At the land generally, we offer the following additional updates as well:
· We have built a hospitality /learning center area for Brand Ambassadors, Clients and distributors. The center has an Artisanal Kitchen made from clay we sourced all materials from the Ranch. We also have built a bar for bartender training as well as to host guests and clients.
· Construction of a clay house for employee housing.
· Construction of full-service bathrooms for employees and guests.
· Have opened up 1.5km of new roads and trails to open access for future cultivation.
· Installation of 550 meters of posts and fencing
· Installation of electricity and internet on the Ranch
· Installation security cameras (9)
· Purchased 2 work Trucks
· Purchased 2 Polaris agricultural units for transport in the Ranch
· Purchased 2 pull Trailers to move agaves and equipment
· Purchased various agricultural equipment
· Purchased uniforms and boots for Workers
· Purchased Refrigerators and Kitchen equipment
· Purchased and installed 3 water pumps
· Purchased and installed various solar lamps for lighting the ranch
· Renovated an existing building on the ranch and converted it to the office for OaxacaStone
· Purchased a solar panel system to power up the office for OaxacaStone
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