Dot mx is not a normal extension for me to see.  Sometimes being north of the border can skew your view.  Then someone pointed Desserto out to me.  This is the kind of thing that benefits from sharing (see that share button below?  Why not click it?).  Desserto produces leather made of cactus.  Not only is industrial cattle raising the most polluting industry in the United States, it also involves great cruelty.  Cactus leather, however, is renewable, requires no irrigation, and actually decreases the carbon in the atmosphere.  A typical north of Tijuana attitude is that such a brilliant idea should occur here.  The fact is, those who live in the desert may well be the voices crying in the wilderness.

Desserto doesn’t make leather items.  They produce the leather and sell it to manufacturers of durable goods.  I would kick my shoes off right now and buy a pair made from cactus leather.  For years I’ve been trying to find something to replace the leather that seems to be the only option.  Faux leather made of plastic isn’t environmentally friendly.  It seems that the best we can do is find something that will do the trick without the pollution both of cattle raising and of tanning.  To me this idea seems absolutely brilliant.  There are otherwise unarable deserts aplenty.  There are limited lands in the drought-ridden west where huge cattle lots create fear, terror, and tremendous waste.  If ever there was a case for putting two and two together, I’d say this is four.

I’m delighted to see this happening in Mexico.  I don’t have much skill in the manufacturing department, but I would be happy to purchase items from those who do.  Too often we look at land that doesn’t fit our paradigms for “good land” and assume there’s no use for it.  Perhaps we should start encouraging cacti and allow American Indians to have some of their former land back.  Everybody wins, except maybe big agra.  Large corporations may qualify as persons under the law (which to me is only asking for trouble for all people except those on the top of the false humans, legally recognized).  Their interests are more equal that the interests of the rest of us.  It’s easier to degrade the environment than it is to change.  Still, looking at a really good idea that could save the planet and provide something useful seems, to me, like an idea worthy of sharing.