Project Bob-o-Link

  • Farm

    Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza

  • Country

    Brazil

  • Region

    Mococa, Alto Mogiana, Sao Paulo

  • Crop

    May - September

  • Certifications

    Organic

  • Cooperation

    Since 2010

Project Bob-o-Link

The initiative, founded by the Croce family at Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza, unites growers around common standards: protection of springs and forests, use of agroforestry and regeneration principles, and emphasis on the separation of microlots

Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza

Bob-o-Link

The Canadian Bobolink is the name of a small bird that migrates from Canada to South America. The Croce family, who lived in Chicago for a long time and returned to Brazil, gave this name to a program that connects small family farms in the Alto Mogiana / Caconde area that grow coffee “in harmony with nature”. The Croce family founded this initiative on their own farm, Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF), to unite neighboring growers around common standards: protection of springs and forests, use of agroforestry / regeneration practices and emphasis on separation by individual microlots instead of commodity blends. The name has become both a quality philosophy and an export brand for regional blends.

Beyond the agronomy, the Bob-o-Link project includes the following benefits: farmers have the opportunity to learn to cup and evaluate their own coffees, share processing know-how and meet directly with the buyers of specialty coffee who visit FAF every year.

Regional lots labeled as Bob-o-Link are usually 100-150 bags in size (approx. 6-9 tons) and have a score of 85 points. For us, they are the main component of the Start espresso blend.

Farm

The farm, formerly known as Fazenda Fortaleza, has been owned by the Barretto family since 1850. Originally a traditional farm with 150 employees and conventional farming methods, Silvia Barretto inherited the farm in 2001 and, together with her husband Marcos Croce and later, especially their son Felipe, the family began to transform the farm according to their dreams.

A follower of a natural and very environmentally friendly lifestyle, Silvia decided that if she took over the farm, it had to become fully organic in every way. This meant not only growing coffee, but also producing milk, honey, cheese and all vegetables and fruits. This transformation began with the farm's name being changed to Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF), which translates to "environmental fortress". The Croce family's dream and mission has become to transform the farm into a sustainable business that takes into account the environment and human relationships while producing high-quality products.

The farm itself is located near the town of Mococa in the Alto Mogiana region, about 4 hours by car from the city of Sao Paulo. The farm covers approximately 2,000 hectares, of which a full third is a protected nature reserve. The coffee farm itself covers 10 hectares and is fully certified organic.

Producer

In 2001, the Croce family moved back to Brazil to try to convert their conventional farm in Fortaleza to a fully organic one. Of course, the transition was not easy. The sudden cessation of the use of artificial fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides resulted in a drastic drop in production. Initially, Marco and Silvia were considered "crazy farmers" in the region, as organic farming was practically non-existent in the Brazilian coffee world.

After many years and many obstacles, the Croce family managed to gain the attention of a small group of American specialty coffee roasters and in 2007 they exported their first container. The following year, FAF received a sustainability award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America. This resulted in a growing interest in FAF and their work.

In 2009, Silvia and Marcos' son, Felipe, who had previously worked at Kaldi's specialty coffee roaster in St. Louis, joined the team. Felipe became the first family member to move to the farm full-time, where he set up his own coffee laboratory and began sorting and studying microlots by variety and processing method. Around the same time, neighbors like Joao Hamilton began to show interest in the direct trade and organic farming model.

Today, Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza is a fully self-sufficient farm that functions as an export hub for hundreds of farmers in the area, as well as a model example for anyone interested in the principles of regenerative agriculture in growing coffee and beyond.

Fun Fact

At FAF, all food is grown according to the principles of organic farming. Whether it's vegetables, fruit, milk and cheese, wine and of course coffee, everything is organic and incredibly tasty.

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Read our blog post (CZ):

Návštěva Brazílie: obava o budoucnost kávy
Návštěva Brazílie: obava o budoucnost kávy
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Enjoy with

Start

Basic espresso blend
310 Kč
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