Fazenda Barreiro, Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais - Brazil
Fazenda Barreiro was founded in 1820, the first coffee fields were planted on the land toward the end of the 19th century. Over the past 30 years Francisco Otávio Lotufo and family have sought to combine the family’s coffee growing traditions with a commitment to farming in an environmentally and socially responsible way.
San Lorenzo, Rio Sucio, Caldas - Colombia
San Lorenzo is part of the Cooperativa de Caficultores de Alto Occidente de Caldas which was established in 1964. The San Lorenzo indigenous group are based in the Rio Sucio municipality of Caldas where there are 11,500 inhabitants with 1,150 farmers growing and producing coffee within the 21 communities. This region until recently was heavily inhabited by the FARC, ELN, Paramilitary groups and guerrillas who looked to control this central corridor in Colombia. This region has not been known for specialty production but as the tensions ease and access has improved it is now possible to demonstrate the quality of the coffees available. The indigenous inhabitants believe in the Pacha Mama where they see the land as a living being. To them it is their duty to protect the natural environment and have as little impact as possible from their farming of coffee and to leave it as it has always been. Each farmer has approximately 0.5 Ha of land in which they have about 2500 coffee trees.
