The design for a farm and hostel in Jilotzingo combines the ambition to promote a more self-reliant and responsible private activity in the mountainous region of Mexico City, and the aim to trace possible ways of seizing its urban development. The site is affected by soil erosion and water stagnation and it lacks drainage and drinking water infrastructures. At the centre of the design proposal is the integration of new constructions with the system of rainwater collection, designed to serve the demand of the property over the year, characterized by a long lasting dry season and an intense, short, rainy one. To do so, rain, grey and wastewater are separately treated within the property and recycled by connecting a downstream shallow natural basin with an upstream existing water tank. Besides that, the design explores the use of three main elements: the terraces, the underground buildings and the cabins, which establish different relationships with the ground, highlighting some features such as topography of the site and the tree cover.