Alejandro Carrillo: Re-Greening the Largest Hot Desert in North America with Donkeys, Love & … Water?

The Chihuahuan desert could sound like a place you endure, not a place you regenerate, yet Alejandro Carrillo has seen grasslands, birds and beauty take the place of erosion and rocks on the family’s Las Damas Ranch. Conservation organisations now seek this ranch out. And the broader region is now regarded as a regenerative hotspot.

Here we unpack how livestock management, a lineage of too-little-known Mexican legends going back to the beginning of holistic management in the Americas, and a repaired water cycle have “rewatered” country that averages about 230ml of rain and has no rivers, streams or springs. 

Along the way, we compare lessons from Mexico, the western US, and Australia, including what Alejandro noticed on his visit to Kachana Station and why a helicopter view made management differences impossible to ignore. And speaking of Kachana, Alejandro calls donkeys a 'secret weapon', and has a suggestion for the WA government as another alternative to its donkey shoot order.

And, of course, we talk about Alejandro’s journey. Far from smooth sailing, we explore the many transformations, stumbles and reasons for his story to never to have happened this way – starting with his father encouraging him to study whatever he wanted, so long as it wasn’t ranching. 

Alejandro is loaded with fascinating insights, and also elaborates here on why he still feels optimistic. Though there is more he'd like to see happen. I hope you enjoy the listen.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 9 March 2026.

Title image: the quintessential shot of Alejandro on horseback (inset: as a 7 year old).

See more photos on the episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

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Music:

Working the Fields, by Falconer (from Artlist).

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

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