 Gabriel and his father Lindolpho standing at the top of Fazenda Cachoeira. |
Nestled beside an ancient volcano, Fazenda Cachoeira (waterfall farm) truly is a remarkable place. The soil, elevation, weather, and native species provide an amazing place to not only grow coffee but to live.
Located four hours North of Sao Paolo and about a days drive west from Rio de Janeiro, the farm sits atop the border between the state of Sao Paolo and Minas Gerais. In our family for several generations, the farm has become known for growing amazing coffee and for the manner in which it does it. Gabriel Carvalho Dias oversees the farm for his father Lindolpho and takes great pride in his work.
Housing is provided on the farm for employees and their families free of charge. You can see their white houses with blue trim dotting the landscape as if it were a postcard. About 60 people live at the farm: husbands, wives and children which gives it a very strong sense of community. Because of this, the farm has a school, church, club for social gatherings and dances, health clinic, and soccer field.
 View of the farm and houses. |
11 out of 12 months a year the farm is completely removed from the power grid. Back in the 1950's, our family installed a small turbine and generator to produce power from the waterfall. The same generator is in use today powering the homes and processing equipment. In addition to the generator, we also use the dried coffee husks to power the processing equipment. We actually collect more coffee husks than are needed for this and hence use the extra as natural fertilizer and mulch on the coffee plants.
Besides growing coffee, we also grow some Eucalyptus at the farm. Planted in only designated areas, we selectively harvast some of the trees to sell for paper production while the remaining trees we keep in order to use for lumber and building supplies at the farm - another example of trying to be completely self-sufficient.
Interspersed between the housing and coffee drying fields, you will see the occasional dairy cow and horses. It is truly an amazing area that seems to be in perfect balance!