Project Bobolink - Brazil

What is the context?

The Bob-O-Link project is run by the Croce family. It brings together a number of producers with the aim of growing sustainable, high-quality coffee in a system that respects the environment and people.

How the project came to life

The story of FAF (Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza) began in 2001. The farm had belonged to Sylvia Croce's family for 5 generations. At the time, Marcos and Sylvia were living in Chicago. When Sylvia's father died, the whole family was debating the future of the farm. At the time, there was only one coffee and prices were very low. The family was in dire straits and most of the surrounding farms were bankrupt.

Sylvia and Marcos nevertheless decided to embark on this crazy adventure, hoping to leave their children not only the heritage of their Brazilian roots but also the inspiration to take up new challenges.

So they took over the family farm, but only if it became organic.

Bob-o-link, a strange name for a meaningful symbol?

In Chicago, the Croce family lived for 8 years on Bob-o-link Street. Every winter, this endangered migratory bird endemic to Brazil flies from the USA to Brazil to find warmth, refuge and food. But in Brazil, crops are increasingly being grown as monocultures, which are synonymous with the destruction of biodiversity. Soon, there will be no more bees, no more drinking water and no more Bob-O-Link in Brazil.

Meeting the challenge of continuing to produce coffee using organic farming practices, shade trees and mixed cropping is ultimately about ensuring that Bob-o-links continue to find refuge in Brazil, and with them all the biodiversity destroyed by intensive farming.

The project, from pilot farm to community

The Croce family farm became a pilot farm. The Bob-o-link project was then duplicated on more than 50 neighbouring farms. In concrete terms, the actions implemented as a priority when coffee growers join the project :

1. Reforestation of their farms with shade trees
2. Poly-culture to diversify their income
3. Protecting watercourses by treating process water
4. Training teams in new farming practices, harvesting, processing, drying and tasting (take a look at the Lado a lado project).
5. A more global change in lifestyle, starting with a ban on soft drinks, the provision of unlimited fresh fruit juice and a healthier diet!

Bob-o-link is a philosophy, a global approach that places coffee at the centre of a project for life, nature and its preservation. It's an innovative vision that creates value by diversifying crops and therefore sources of income. We've been supporting this project for a number of years, as it represents the future of the sector and has inspired us a great deal in our sourcing! What's more, the Brazilian producers involved in family farming, far from Brazilian standards, see this project as an innovative way of standing out from the crowd. Do little but do it well, and make the most of every crop!