Brazilian coffee is already known throughout the world for its quality. Now, with new technologies and an increasingly demanding public, tradition reaches especially new generations.
At the age of 14, Heloisa Vilete Magro is her parents’ great motivator in the production of specialty coffees. The dream and curiosity reached the whole family, even her 3-year old sister, Maria Beatriz, who already enjoys selecting the “cherry” types of grains, as she defines the mature coffee grains.
As well as the encouragement of their daughters, the parents, Cristiano da Silva Magro and Cleidiane Leal Vilete Magro, rely on specialized training to improve the quality of the family’s production. They took FAEMG/SENAR/INAES courses, offered in partnership with the Union of Rural Producers of Espera Feliz.
“Heloisa has never been so excited and wants to be part of the farm’s day-to-day. Maria is excited to learn everything and, like all of us, is delighted with this new world that has opened up to us,” says her mother Cleidiane.
Recently, the family began selling a kind of special roasted coffee. The brand Maria Helô is a tribute to their daughters. The accomplishment is celebrated by all, especially Heloísa, who is already considering taking a degree in Agronomy to continue learning and improving the family business.
Training
Cristiano and Cleidiane say that FAEMG System’s courses made them change their relationship with coffee growing. The production of upper-quality coffee is the result of knowledge put into practice. Being aware of the harvest and post-harvest processes, the farmers built suspended terraces and a greenhouse on their property. Cleidiane says that working with specialty coffee has become a passion. “We started to want to learn more about it,” she says.
Cristiano, who has worked with coffee all his life, admits that he is updating the way he handles the activity. “It is much more pleasant to work the right way,” says the producer, who also plans to invest in a roasting facility.
ATeG Café+Forte
The family is part of the group from the Technical and Managerial Assistance Program (ATeG) Café+Forte (Stronger Coffee), developed by the FAEMG System in partnership with Sicoob Credisudeste in Minas Gerais. Michel Silva is responsible for the monitoring. He highlights that the family’s commitment and dedication make a difference in achieving results.
“They are interested in the techniques used in farming, soil analysis, harvest, and post-harvest, and they are looking for innovation to grow in the coffee activity, to take advantage of all areas of the property,” Michel explains.
“We have great expectations with the AteG. We want to improve the quality and productivity of our coffee. We are learning how to manage our farm efficiently because we thought we were doing it well, but we found out that we have a lot to learn. We are very happy to be part of this project and very optimistic about our future after it,” says Cleidiane.