Márcio Custódio & Heitor Botelho
Fazenda Cetec started as a childhood dream. The brothers Márcio Custódio and Izonel Junior, were born in a humble family. In their youth, they worked for the coffee farms of the region as coffee pickers. Knowing the importance of education, the young labourers left the work in the farms and began to dedicate themselves to their studies. After graduating, the brothers became university professors and after a few years as teachers, decided to create their own Technical School called CETEC – Center of Technology of the city of Lavras, in the south of Minas Gerais. This school’s objective was to provide education for young people from poor households. They wanted to offer the possibility of education and a better life for these students and their families.
After more than 10 years of school existence, having trained more than 5 thousand young people, the brothers decided to make their childhood dreams come true. They bought a small farm that at the time was raising Nelore cattle, in the small city of Itumirim, indigenous name for "small waterfall", in reference to the many beautiful waterfalls in its surroundings. Woefully, one day after purchasing the farm, the elder Brother, Izonel Junior, passes away. This occurrence forced Márcio, shaken by the death of his dear brother, to think of selling the newly bought farm. However, he thought that he had to honour their dream and the memories of their childhood together, and decided to continue to pursue the goal of having a beautiful coffee farm. From then on, the cattle gave way to the coffee grounds, and the dedication to the farm was from the entire family. At this time, the nephew Heitor Botelho, started working on the farm with his uncle Márcio and they both named the farm Fazenda CETEC, as a way of honouring Izonel and the Technical School that through many years helped them achieve their dream.
The search for knowledge to produce excellent coffees went beyond the farm’s gates, with several courses and trips seeking the understatement of the most appropriate cultural means to produce specialty coffees. In addition to the attention to the crops and plants, their social and environmental responsibilities are well defined in the farm’s core values. Fazenda CETEC is always concerned with the safety and well-being of its employees. It invests and dedicates itself to the preservation of the environment, such as the recovery and preservation of its springs and forests, as well as the rational use of water in all their processes. Fazenda CETEC uses an ecologically correct cultural treatment where the coffee is cultivated in a consortium of grass, which prevents soil erosion and consequently the silting of the rivers, and hinders the invasion of weeds, drastically reducing the use of herbicide for the control of pests. Once grown, the producers scrub the grass and throw it under the coffee plants creating a natural organic matter and consequently reducing the application of chemical fertilisers.
This combination of productivity, quality and respect for the environment, makes Fazenda CETEC a reference in the production of specialty coffees, so appreciated all over the world.
Altitude: 1100 MASL
Variety: Catucai
Processing: Natural
