This is a picture from one of our farms that we are allowing to naturally pollinate. This is a process that we will use to create a special version of Cambio to celebrate our 10th anniversary.
First, the plants have to grow to full maturity, which in this particular farm took eight and a half years. Then starting in February we allow them to begin the process of natural reproduction and grow their quiote (long reproductive stem). This month, the center trees become full-grown and they will next start to produce hundreds of little yellow flowers.
After this we will pull the flowers when they begin to bud and plant them into a greenhouse. In two years we will transfer those into the ground and allow them to come to full maturity. In about 8 years, we will have fully mature agave plants that were naturally pollinated by the bats that live close to the property.
The total time for this process is a little more than 16 years in total. No one raises agave like this anymore, it is simply too expensive and time-consuming. But it produces something truly special and unique to the world and that’s why we started planning this project over a year ago to be prepared for today. This will yield roughly five hectares of agave that we can harvest.
In the coming years we will repeat this process so that every year after our 10th anniversary we will have a small amount of naturally pollinated agave. This is incredibly helpful for the insects and for the bats, and if a larger percentage of farms could do this it could make a large impact on the ecology of the farms and make them more environmentally beneficial.
When we talk about bringing Change to tequila and the way it’s made, we hope someday others follow our example, but we’re not holding our breath. Sustainable farming benefits us all, but we understand Change is hard for other brands. We’re going to keep doing things our way, and no one else’s. There’s never been another tequila like Cambio before, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
John des Rosiers, Founder and CEO
