A long-term project

Claude Maeder, a Swiss national born in Angola, worked for more than forty years in industry, in Luanda and Lobito.

He then created Fazenda Kavili, in the Ebanga mountains, Benguela Province.

Understanding the soils

The plantation lies near Ganda, between 1,300 and 1,700 metres above sea level. An initial field assessment carried out with an agronomist identified deep, loose and porous tropical red soils, well suited to Arabica Caturra coffee.

The land is gradually being understood.

Bringing water from the mountain

Water flowing down from the heights of Ebanga is collected upstream and channelled through a network of pipes to the crops and coffee trees.

The natural slope of the land distributes it by gravity, without fossil-fuel-powered pumps.

Planting tomorrow’s coffee trees

A coffee tree takes around five years to reach productive maturity. Each young Arabica Caturra tree first grows in the nursery, carefully tended, before joining the plantation under the shade of native trees.

Building with the community

Claude Maeder has devoted several years to establishing the farm, building relationships with local farming communities and developing the agronomic knowledge required to produce specialty Arabica coffee in Angola.

The first harvests

Samples from the 2025 crop were sent to specialist Swiss roasters for professional cupping, with encouraging initial feedback.

The 2026 season marks Fazenda Kavili’s first commercial harvest.