§ About

The people behind
the Rancho.

A small team, a long-term vision, and fifty hectares of Oaxacan coast we intend to leave better than we found it.

§ Our story

How it started.

Paul first came to Chacahua with a surfboard and no plan. What he found was something harder to leave behind — a lagoon system backed by mangroves, a sky full of stars at night, and a coastline that hadn't yet been carved into resort lots. He came back the next year, and the year after that.

Luisa grew up in the region and had spent years working in education and community development. When they started talking about what this stretch of land could become, the answer wasn't a hotel, a surf camp, or a gated community. It was something slower and more deliberate: a place where people could put down roots without paving over everything that made the land worth loving.

Rancho de las Estrellas was founded in 2023 with a simple premise — keep seventy percent of the land open, design with the climate instead of against it, and grow only as fast as the community can sustain. We're not in a rush. The coast has waited this long.

§ The team

Meet the people making it happen.

Paul Ruminski
Founder & Director

Surfer turned land steward. Paul oversees the master plan, community relations, and the day-to-day reality of turning fifty hectares into something that lasts.

Luisa Barrientos
Educator & Co-Director

Born and raised on the Oaxacan coast, Luisa leads our educational programming and ensures the project stays rooted in local culture and community needs.

Roxi Stolk
Yoga & Surf

Roxi brings body and breath into the daily rhythm of the Rancho — running surf sessions, yoga classes, and retreat programming for visitors and residents alike.

Boaz Agmon
Food Forest & Permaculture

Boaz is designing and planting our food forest — a living system of fruit trees, medicinal plants, and regenerative soil practices suited to the tropical dry climate.

Imad Salloum
Web & Media

Imad handles photography, video, and this website — making sure the Rancho's story reaches the right people without losing its honesty along the way.

§ Our values

Five principles we build by.

i.

Regenerative design

We build with the climate, not against it — passive cooling, native planting, water systems that return to the aquifer. Every structure should give back more than it takes.

ii.

Slow growth

We'd rather have ten aligned neighbors than fill the land quickly. Growth is deliberate, paced by what the community can absorb and the ecosystem can sustain.

iii.

Local partnership

Local labour, local materials, local economy. The project succeeds only if Zapotalito and the surrounding communities benefit alongside us.

iv.

Dark skies

No light pollution by design. Shielded fixtures, warm LEDs only where needed, and a future observatory under some of the darkest skies left on Mexico's coast.

v.

Intentional community

Not a resort, not a compound. A neighborhood with shared spaces, shared meals when you want them, and the freedom to close your door when you don't.

§ Right now

What we're
working on.

We're in the early years. That means some things are finished and many aren't — and we think that's worth being honest about. The land is cleared where it needs to be, access roads are in, and water and electricity reach every plotted lot.

The food forest is in its first full planting cycle. Boaz and a small crew are establishing fruit trees, nitrogen fixers, and ground cover that will mature over the next three to five years. The first residential palapa is under construction, and we're testing building techniques that work with the heat, humidity, and hurricane season.

We're also developing our retreat and educational programming — yoga, surf, permaculture workshops — on a seasonal basis while infrastructure catches up to ambition. If you visit now, you'll see a project in motion, not a finished product. That's part of the appeal for the right kind of person.

Land surveyed & platted
Water & electricity to lots
Food forest — first planting cycle
First residential build
Community palapa & kitchen
Dark-sky observatory
§ Visit

Come visit and meet us in person.

The best way to understand what we're building is to walk the land, share a meal, and watch the sun set over the lagoon. We host visitors year-round — no pressure, just an honest look at the project.

Plan your visit →