Rich history of the Yucatán and Sac Chich
The “Green Gold”
Hacienda Sac Chich is located in Yucatan, Mexico. After the Spanish conquest, parcels of land were gifted to Spanish Noblemen. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Haciendas were built on much of this land in order to produce henequen. This agave plant was also referred to as the ‘Green Gold’. It was harvested and used to produce a fiber for rope that was sold around the world. The fiber was shipped out of the nearby port of Sisal, which is how this fiber came to be known worldwide. In the early 1900s, with the invention of synthetic fibers, these Haciendas were closed or abandoned over time, mostly left to ruin.
Casa de Maquinas
Hacienda Sac Chich includes the original Casa de Maquinas, where the machines were housed for production, as well as the drying fields, all originating from around 1850. Hacienda Sac Chich, Casa de Maquinas was purchased by the current owners in 2003 and soon after they began restoration.
The drying fields
A major part of the phase two restoration included the award-winning Casa Sisal. All hacienda restoration, including the design and construction of Casa Sisal, has been a project of the renowned Mexican architect Salvador Reyes Rios and his partner and wife Josefina Larrain. Most of the furniture is designed by Salvador and fabricated locally. Throughout the hacienda, there is evidence of its previous utilitarian life. Iron wheels, massive beams, dramatic stone archways, and even a water tower converted into a modern bathroom, are all remnants of its past. Casa Sisal sits within the walled drying fields independent from the hacienda providing an interesting modern contrast to the historic hacienda.
