At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Campos family maintained its roots in the interior of Minas Gerais, in the village of São Francisco de Paula, 160 kilometers from the state capital, Belo Horizonte.

Decades passed and Mario's family grew. On May 20, 1946, his grandson, Eduardo Pinheiro Campos, was born. The boy is the great pride of his father, Francisco, and mother, Maria Conceição Pinheiro de Campos. He grew up, like his father and grandfather, on the farm, accustomed to rural life. The age of 15 provokes him to seek greater agitation. Edward was an applied, perceptive student. Intelligence takes him to Belo Horizonte, miles away from his father's lands and the comfort of his family.

But fate demanded a special look at coffee growing. As a young man, Eduardo Campos receives a paternal inheritance, a good piece of land in Presidente Olegário, a mining town 430 kilometers from the capital Belo Horizonte. The farm is named "Dona Neném", in honor of her mother. Already an engineer, and now an agribusiness man, coffee returns to the hands of the miner. "I started working in coffee growing in the Cerrado region in 1977. In the region of Patos de Minas I was the pioneer in coffee production. In other parts of the Cerrado there was already coffee growing, still in a timid way", Campos is proud.

Campos explains how he manages to make a selective collection, aiming at the high quality of the fruits. "My harvest is done by machines that already do a selective collection. The choice goes by the degree of maturation of the grains, which is differentiated by the weight and density of each seed. We regulate the machine so that it collects only the so-called "cherry", leaving the green coffees still ripening on the foot. Days later, we go back and collect those grains that were left in the coffee plantation, which were once green and are now ripe, at the ideal point for harvesting. What is left in the feet is done the manual harvesting, which we call manual transfer. The whole process is to get a quality crop."

Part of the three resorts is set aside for subsistence farming. Many of the foods consumed by Eduardo's family and collaborators are planted on the farms in Presidente Olegário. The remaining hectares are untouchable, respected only for environmental preservation. Campos replants much of the native vegetation of the region, compensating for some environmental impact caused by the cattle herd and coffee. And it also recovers areas of permanent preservation, the APP's (boundaries drawn between the end of streams, lakes or rivers and the beginning of crops). This maintains good water quality and ensures the future of the river basins.

Coffee plantations are a secular support of the family. It is a tradition allied to innovation, which enriches local production and the strength of Brazilian coffee. "It is a pleasure to work with coffee growing. First because it is a family tradition, for my part I have been in coffee growing for more than 40 years. My father, who was 70 years old, and my grandfather who had been producing for a long time... We can say that it is more than 100 years that coffee is part of the family, a century of tradition in coffee growing, and always innovating,"calculates Campos.

From grain to grain

1.9 million coffee plants planted on the São João Grande farm and a production of 18,<> bags per year

1.1 million coffee plants at Dona Neném Farm and an annual production of 12,<> bags Awards

Champion in the II Cerrado Mineiro Region Award – Natural Category 2.014

Champion in the Rainforest/Imaflora contest – VI certified coffee tasting of 2.014

Champion of the Cerrado Mineiro Region in the Cup of Excellence Early Harvest 2.013

Champion of the X State Contest of Minas Gerais in 2.013

Champion in the Emater Contest – Cerrado Mineiro Region 2.013

Best supplier of sustainable coffee in the year 2 (2013) for the Italian Illy Caffe