When observing our farm’s region under satellite view, one can distinctly make out the ancient volcano that was once there. Today, its crater forms a huge circle of hills that embrace an area with whole cities, lakes, forests, fields and farms. Nestled in this rich soil is Cachoeira Farm. This special terrain is one of our coffee fields’ most praised natural assets, alongside the great weather conditions and the 3,600 feet altitude. Our forefathers arrived in this area in the 1890’s, and after over a century of tradition, our family is now in the fifth generation of coffee growers – and lovers!
The farm lies at the border between the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. It’s also right between two of the best coffee producing areas in Brazil: Mogiana, in São Paulo, and Sul de Minas, the South of Minas Gerais. We like to say that our 100% Arabica coffee adds the richness of the South of Minas to the sweetness of the Mogiana… Now that’s a perfect blend!
About a half hour drive separates the farm from the two neighboring cities – São Sebastião da Grama, on the paulista side, or Poços de Caldas, on the mineiro side. So it’s easy to forget urban life in this extremely pleasant rural area, driving along coffee fields through red dirt roads, passing forests, green fields with cattle and other plantations on the way.
Growing a truly handcrafted coffee also ensures a more ecological one. After all, handpicking, as opposed to machine-picking, ensures a much friendlier balance in today's plight to reduce CO2 emissions. Our commitment to the environment is reflected in many other choices. Almost all of the energy we use also comes from the farm: in the 50’s, our family installed a small turbine and generator to produce power from a local waterfall. This energy feeds the farm’s village and the processing equipment.
In our reforestation program, we plant between 6,000 and 8,000 native species every year to help maintain a better ecological balance. Just as important as our commitment to the environment, social responsibility is also a fundamental part of our mission. The village where the farm’s employees live hosts almost 50 families today, with access to comfortable housing, a health clinic, a chapel, a clubhouse for games and dance and a soccer field. The children also get their education there. A one-acre plot donated by the farm was used to build a school, where over 300 students from our farm and other neighboring ones study.
The school was proudly named after our great-grandmother: Dona Mathilde de Carvalho Dias. Before she died in 1991, at 103 years of age, she wrote her memories in a book that sums up the family’s spirit in its title: "Amor e Trabalho". Love and Labor.
Here is where we are located:
More pictures? Click on the link below to see photos taken by Reg Barber during their tour through Brazil. Pictures on pages 12 and 13 are from my family's farms: Fazenda Recreio and Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10704206@N08/sets/72157627137530237/?page=12
