The Living Classroom: Wisdom Grown in Forests, Farms, and Human Connection

When our group of students from UTSA and the Alamo Colleges arrived in the bustling port of Veracruz this June, the air was heavy with salt and moisture from the early rains. Waiting for us was our guide and partner, Antonio Carrillo Bolea, the kind of person you hope to travel with in Mexico. Antonio is not just our team leader while in Mexico, he is a practitioner, a teacher, and a visionary who has spent years building regenerative systems through his work with Estampa Verde A.C., Vetiver Roots Technology, The Vetiver Network International, and many more collaborators throughout the years, including his current role as Agricultural Director for the State of Veracruz. His hands carry the experience of planting thousands of grasses on steep slopes, conceptualizing and implementing agro-ecological systems using keyline design principles, of guiding communities through agroecology, and of turning ideas into living systems. Throughout the trip, Antonio was our anchor, our interpreter of landscapes, and our bridge to some of the most innovative projects in the country.

This was the second year of the CREA Study Abroad program in Mexico. Unlike the whirlwind of our first year, this time we slowed down, focusing deeply on fewer sites. The rhythm of the trip was deliberate: settle into a place, meet its people, immerse ourselves in the work, then move on. What unfolded was a mosaic of science, culture, art, and celebration.

Las Cañadas: Compost, Cloud Forest, and Future Seeds

Our first stop was Huatusco, home of Las Cañadas, where we were greeted warmly by Ricardo Romero, the founder of this extraordinary cooperative.

Ricardo told us the story of how Las Cañadas began roughly 30 years ago as a dream to create a self-sustaining model rooted in permaculture principles, which over the years has grown into an integrated system of agroforestry, seed saving, composting, and ecological restoration.

With his characteristic wit, Ricardo reminded us, “a society that cannot manage its own shit is doomed to fail,” pointing toward the composting toilets that symbolize his belief in closing every loop.

Antonio led our classroom session on the “Future Seeds” project. He asked the students to imagine what seeds will matter most fifty years from now: Which crops and ideas will be resilient? Which plants will nourish both body and soil? Which ideas will affect public policy, and change the hearts and minds of the masses? Antonio’s guidance pushed students to think beyond the week’s work to the legacy of what they plant, harvest, and cherish.

Over the course of seven days, we immersed ourselves in the systems of Las Cañadas:

• We planted biointensive garden beds, learning how small plots can produce high yields when diversity and soil fertility are prioritized.

• We learned about biofertilizers and built a hot compost pile, watching the temperature climb as microbial life flourished. Worm bins offered another lesson in decomposition, where red wigglers turned scraps into rich castings.

• We hiked into the old growth cloud forest, a living cathedral of tree ferns, moss, and hidden springs. There we collected nearly fifty species of mushrooms, a rainbow of caps and stems that underscored the biodiversity still thriving in this protected pocket.

• We walked through rows of coffee bushes, learning how shade management shapes flavor, disease resistance, and long-term sustainability.

• We walked the food forest and mushroom cultivation area, introducing students to whole-systems thinking from micro to macro.

• We studied experimental plots where four varieties of vetiver grass are being tested for slope stabilization and soil building.

• We had an extensive discussion with Tania, who runs the school for the collective, and gain many interesting insights into community needs and challenges.

• 
  

  

  
  

  

  

At Las Cañadas, learning came with muddy boots, damp notebooks, and laughter around the communal table. Ricardo provided the stories of origins; Antonio guided us through the applications and the future. Together, they showed students that regeneration is not just theory, it is daily work, sometimes messy, always essential.

Coatepec: Coffee and Creativity

From Huatusco we traveled to Coatepec, where the scent of roasting beans fills the air. Our first stop was Ensambles Café, linked to the biodynamic farm El Equimite, owned by Gibrán Cervantes.

Biodynamic farming treats the farm as a living organism, blending animals, crops, compost, and even lunar cycles into a system that sustains itself. At El Equimite, coffee grows under the shade of fruit and timber trees, biofertilizers nourish the soil, and compost replaces synthetic inputs. Gibrán welcomed us with a talk about his philosophy: coffee should not be about extraction but about reciprocity.

Through Ensambles Coffee, he has built a supply chain where farmers are treated as partners, quality is preserved from field to cup, and dignity is as important as flavor.

Students toured the ranch, guided through composting systems and biofertilizer production. They learned about varieties like Bourbon Rosado and Geisha, understanding how each responds to altitude, shade, and soil. It was Antonio again who tied the lessons back to broader regenerative strategies, reminding us that coffee systems are models for larger ecological design.

Antonio led the students in a hands-on keyline design workshop.

But Coatepec had more in store. We were joined by Dr. Ernesto Ruelas, ornithologist from the University of Xalapa and a leader in bird conservation with an impressive life-long body of work and dedication to the field.

Despite heavy tropical storms that drenched the group, Ernesto and his colleague were able to set up mist nets for bird banding. Students held small birds gently in their hands, learning to measure, band, and release them. The moment of opening a hand and watching a warbler fly free left many wide-eyed with awe.

Later, art replaced science at La Ceiba Gráfica, a cultural center housed in a restored hacienda. Founded to preserve traditional printmaking techniques, La Ceiba is alive with the clatter of hand-operated presses. Students carved linoleum blocks inspired by their CREA journey.

Fungi, birds, water systems, even composting toilets, inked and printed by hand. Together, the prints were collaged into a single artwork, a visual memory of the trip. Ink-stained hands and laughter filled the room, a reminder that regeneration is as much about creativity as it is about soil.

Xalapa: History Beneath Our Feet

A short ride brought us to Xalapa, the state capital, where Dr. Gustavo Ramírez, archaeologist and professor with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, welcomed us at the Museo de Antropología de Xalapa. Dr. Ramírez has spent his career uncovering civilizations in Tamaulipas and studying the Mesoamerican societies of Veracruz.

As he guided us through the galleries, colossal Olmec heads stood alongside Totonac ceramics and Huastec figurines. Dr. Ramírez explained how ancient societies designed irrigation canals, cultivated diverse crops, and built ceremonial centers aligned with astronomical cycles. For students who had just been composting and planting in Huatusco, the tour revealed the deep roots of land stewardship in Mexico. Regeneration, it turns out, is not a new idea but one that has been practiced for millennia. Gustavo reminded us to always keep asking questions, as history and archeology raise more questions than answers.

Echoes of the Wild: Dreams and Discoveries in Los Tuxtlas 

From the mountains, we descended to the tropics of Los Tuxtlas, stopping along the way at Jose Carlos' Jarana workshop, where youth learn to carve traditional string instruments by hand. It was a reminder that regeneration applies to culture as much as to ecosystems.

Boarding boats, we crossed the Laguna de Sontecomapan toward Los Amigos Ecotourism Lodging. The twenty-minute ride felt like entering another world, with mangroves arching overhead, herons stalking in the shallows, and volcanoes rising from the gulf.

Here Antonio shared his newest project design: integrating vetiver hedges with future water buffalo grazing lands, alongside aquaculture for shrimp and oysters. The vetiver is already in place, stabilizing soils and shaping paddocks, but the buffalo and aquaculture elements are planned for the coming year. Antonio described the vision with contagious enthusiasm, outlining how soil, water, and animal systems could function together in balance. Students listened closely, sensing they were glimpsing a project in its genesis, one they might return to help implement in 2026.

Our time in Los Tuxtlas was full of discovery. Days included hikes into tropical forests, tours of mangrove systems, and birding expeditions with local guides. Some students rose before dawn to help milk cows, learning how daily chores anchor larger systems of sustainability. Others caught glimpses of howler monkeys in the wild, their deep calls echoing across the canopy like ancient drums.

At night, we followed Dr. Rafael Rueda Hernandez, who introduced students to the hidden world of bats. Using ultrasonic detectors, Rafa captured the high-frequency echolocation calls bats produce to navigate and hunt. These calls are far above the range of human hearing, but detectors shift them into audible tones and visual spectrograms, making the invisible world of bats suddenly accessible. Students could see how different species produce distinct call patterns, allowing researchers to identify them without ever laying eyes on the animal. It was a reminder that ecosystems are alive with signals we rarely perceive.

Rafa also demonstrated his bioacoustic monitoring of bird migration. Special recorders are set up to capture the faint flight calls birds make as they pass overhead at night. Later, software processes the recordings into spectrograms, visual fingerprints of each call. By analyzing these patterns, scientists can map which species are migrating, when, and in what numbers. Standing in the dark, students realized migration is not only a daytime spectacle of flocks and feathers. It is also an unseen, nocturnal river of wings, flowing across continents in a chorus of tiny calls.

One highlight of this leg was a visit to Reserva Ecológica Nanciyaga on Lake Catemaco, where we were joined by Rafa and Dra. Graciela Alcántara Salinas, an ethnobiologist conducting research in Oaxaca and Veracruz, and her team.

Heavy rains kept us from hiking far (not before we got to see Scarlet Macaws in the wild), but under the shelter of palm roofs, we held deep conversations about how birds connect ecosystems, cultures, and migrations. Rafa spoke about banding projects that trace species across hemispheres. Graciela shared how birds inspire local art and ritual, becoming more than species but symbols of continuity. Students saw how science and culture weave together like the roots of a mangrove.

Antonio showed us all just how fascinating and critical Melipona native bees are to ecosystem health and resilience by getting us involved. We went out with the students to move the bee traps at night, and the next day his colleague arrived to help us transfer the colonies and harvest honey/ pollen.

On the way back to Veracruz, we revisited the ranch of Dr. Jesús and Dra. Carmita (members of ReGaSo), who practice regenerative grazing with Mexican sunflower for milk production. Their pastures, lush and resilient, stood in stark contrast to the overgrazed lands of their neighbors. For students, it was living proof: regenerative systems yield visible results.

Carnaval in Veracruz

Back in the port city, we arrived just in time for Carnaval, the annual celebration that transforms Veracruz into a sea of music, costumes, and parades. Students threw themselves into the revelry, dancing alongside strangers who instantly felt like friends. It was a fitting end to weeks of rain, mud, and study. It was a reminder that joy and community are also forms of resilience.

Our last dinner was at our friend, and regenerative rancher, Emilio’s Bistro, Sierra del Mar. Over plates of local food, students reflected on what they had learned: the science of soil and water, the art of printmaking and music, the history embedded in stone, and the friendships formed across borders.

Reflections

Throughout the journey, Antonio Carrillo was our compass. With humility and humor, he connected us to projects, people, and landscapes, reminding us that regeneration is both technical and human. His work with Estampa Verde and Vetiver Roots Technology embodies the bridge between science and practice, and having him as our partner in Mexico is a gift we do not take lightly.

The students left Mexico not only with knowledge of compost systems, agroforestry design, bird banding, and archaeology. They left with ink-stained hands, rain-soaked journals, and stories they will carry for years. They learned that regeneration is not a clean process. It is muddy, wet, sometimes uncomfortable, but it is also joyful, creative, and necessary.

As the plane lifted back toward San Antonio, there was a sense that something had shifted. The CREA Study Abroad 2025 was not just an academic program. It was a living lesson in how people, plants, animals, and cultures intertwine to create futures worth working toward.

It was beautiful. And it was only the beginning.

If you, or a UTSA or Alamo Colleges student that you know would like to apply for this experience in 2026, see the following link HERE.