Rancho del Paso
Rancho del Paso is a private residence with pastures and stables for the owners' Peruvian Paso horses.
And, Hacienda Alta, a gated, subdivision of 6 building lots offering sweeping views of Lake Chapala, and the mountains to the east and north; quiet and secure, with lovely breezes drifting up from the lake.
Rancho del Paso and Hacienda Alta are located about 1 mile east of Chapala.
Rancho del Paso
History
The land at RDP was once part of the enormous Hacienda La Labor, which was a working hacienda up until the 1930s. Then the land became "ejido" land (communally owned), and most of it has since passed into private ownership, including RDP's acreage. The little town of Hacienda La Labor, which you pass through on the road up to RDP, is the remnant of the hacienda's nucleus. It has about 200 inhabitants, an elementary school, and a brand new plaza built by the government a few years ago.
Equestrian Facilities
Grass-covered turn-out areas (irrigated in the dry season to stay green), 125' x 90' riding arena, 50' round pen. Large, secure tack/equipment storage, roomy stalls with private paddocks. Wash area and vet stocks. Access to miles of trails and dirt roads. Visitors' parking lot inside the secure walled perimeter.
GENUINE "PASO POOP" 100% NATURAL COMPOST
FOR SALE: Genuine hot-composted "Paso Poop" from 100% natural aged horse manure. No weeds, no seeds, no smell. Great mulch, soil conditioner, and fertilizer. The "hot-composting" process kills any weed seeds, insect eggs, and manure odors; it produces a lovely product, perfect for soil amendment/fertilization. We first developed this composting process to create soil amendment and mulch for our own gardens; we now offer it for sale to other Lakeside gardeners. Fully shredded and ready to go in your garden. Top-dress your plants or your lawn, use as mulch, or dig into your soil. 1 bag covers 4-6 square feet when used as mulch, and double the amount when used as a soil amendment. Compost made from Horse manure has the 3 common macronutrients NPK – nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and 3 secondary nutrients – calcium, magnesium, and sodium, as well as other micronutrients. Neutral pH.
Price: Available for just 120 pesos per bag.
Inputs
STABLES: RPD has 10 stalls with adjoining 12’ X 22' private paddocks, plus an overflow foaling/quarantine pen. As horses are wont to do, they eat all day and produce the raw materials for our compost all night. Raw manure is picked out of the stalls and paddocks twice/day, and carefully deposited in our composting bins, where it bakes until it has turned into odorless, weed and insect-free compost.
HORSE FACILITIES: Grass turnout areas are carefully rotated and irrigated to maintain green grass year-round. The horses are in the pastures for several hours a day. In addition, they get high-quality hay, alfalfa, oat chaff, chia, and flax seeds for their Omega 3s, and the underweight ones get a little bit of grain every morning and evening. These are the raw ingredients that become our compost.
Outputs
COMPOSTING AREAS: Four large composting bins have been built at the rancho. Each is covered and has permanent air tubes installed to ensure good air circulation throughout the pile of compost that is aging in the bin. The stacks are monitored for temperature and moisture level for 6-9 weeks, until the material is fully composted.
PROCESSING: RDP has recently purchased a professional grinding machine for our custom-built Paso Poop processing system, to fully shred and grind the composted manure into a consistent fertilizer/mulch/soil amendment product. Bags sitting in inventory will continue to dry, losing some weight and moisture as they age. Same great compost, though!
HACIENDA ALTA
Hacienda Alta Subdivision, located on a ridgeline above the valley reaching to the lake - the upper portion of the former Hacienda La Labor.
Minutes away from downtown Chapala to the west and the Chapala Country Club to the east, yet a world away in terms of tranquility and security. Bordered by horse pastures to the north and agricultural fields all around. Located on a ridgeline above the valley, securing the exquisite views from any blockage while providing steady light breezes that keep the property cool and bug-free.
10 minutes to the Chapala malecon, shops, nightlife, and restaurants, or to the Soriana supermarket, or Pancho's Deli, and less than 15 minutes to Walmart or SuperLake in San Antonio Tlayacapan. The Chapala Country Club and golf course is a 10-minute drive east of the turnoff for Hacienda Alta, passing by the villages of Santa Cruz and San Nicolás as you drive east along the lakeside highway.