Region: Mantiqueira de Minas, Minas Gerais
Elevation: 1200 masl
About: Mariana de Carvalho Junqueira, the matriarch of the Junqueira family, inherited the land that is now Rancho São Benedito from her parents in the 1950s. Coffee producers themselves, they also passed down a passion for coffee and a fierce drive to maintain ecological balance and biodiversity on the farm. Over the years, Mariana and her family have expanded Rancho São Benedito and added new farms to the family legacy. The farms are situated around a shared, centralised processing area, which helps significantly reduce the water and energy used during processing, making the operation more sustainable. Coffee trees are planted along topographical contour lines to combat soil erosion.
In addition to growing coffee, the farm raises Mangalarga Marchador horses and provides housing, medical care, and access to schools for its 20 permanent employees. Márcio Heleno de Carvalho Junqueira, one of Mariana’s sons, now manages all the family farms. Inspired by his mother’s passion for coffee and the environment, the Junqueira family legacy is in safe hands under Márcio’s watch.
