VANILLA FARM
A feature documentary from 83ºWEST

Beneath the jungle of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula lies one of the largest underwater cave systems on Earth. Thousands of cenotes and hundreds of miles of flooded passages form a single, fragile aquifer: the only fresh water source for millions of people, and a world few humans will ever see.

Vanilla Farm follows the explorers who map it and the scientists working to protect it.

We are filming on location with cave divers Tamara Adame, a member of The Explorers Club, and Jack Cleary, as they push into passages no one has entered before. Alongside them, researchers and conservationists on the peninsula are documenting what is at stake as rapid development, pollution and pressure on the water table threaten an ecosystem that took millions of years to form.

It is a film about exploration, about the people drawn to the edge of the known world, and about what we owe to the places that sustain us.

"This one very second belongs to me." — Tamara Adame

Help us finish the film

The trailer you've just watched was shot during our first production phase. To complete Vanilla Farm as a feature-length documentary, we are seeking funding for the remaining underwater and surface production, scientific interviews, and post-production.

Whether you are an individual supporter, a foundation, a brand aligned with ocean and freshwater conservation, or an impact investor, we would like to hear from you.