Region: Conceiçāo do Rio Verde, Mantiqueira de Minas, Minas Gerais
Elevation: 930-1050 masl
About: To call Fazenda Santa Clara a family business doesn’t quite capture the Pereira family’s dedication to their farm—it’s a family passion. Established in the early 1900s by Italian and Portuguese immigrants, Santa Clara has been passed down through generations of the Pereira family. At the beginning of what we now know as specialty coffee, Fazenda Santa Clara was run by Moacyr Dias Pereira and his wife, Alayde Graciano Pereira. Since Moacyr’s passing and Alayde’s retirement, the farm is now shepherded by their four children: Fernando, Carlos Henrique, Eduardo, and Luciana—the fourth generation of the Pereira family to dedicate their lives to working the land.
Through generations of hard work, the Pereira family knows that consistent and sustainable agriculture starts with taking care of the land. Without biodiversity, a farm simply cannot survive, and out of respect for their father’s hard work and legacy, Moacyr’s children approach environmental preservation with the same passion as producing high-quality coffee. Large sections of the farm are reserved to protect native forests and natural water sources.
