It takes nearly five years for a coffee tree to reach full productive maturity. The quality of a coffee is therefore shaped long before the first cherries begin to colour its branches. At Fazenda Kavili, each young coffee tree grows patiently in the nursery for almost a year, carefully tended before being transferred to the plantation.
The process begins with the careful selection of the seeds. They are soaked in water for three days, then sown individually in the soil. A fine layer of dry grass is placed over the ground to retain the moisture required for germination, soften temperature fluctuations and create favourable conditions for the first shoots to emerge.
For approximately one month, watering must remain regular. Once the young shoots appear, the dry grass is removed. A natural shade canopy is then installed above the nursery to filter direct sunlight and protect the still-fragile seedlings.
After a further two months of growth and careful monitoring, the young plants are transferred into individual nursery bags filled with a mixture of soil and well-rotted manure produced at Fazenda Kavili. Sourced from the farm’s livestock, this manure naturally adds organic matter and helps nourish the soil without the use of synthetic fertilisers. Each seedling is thus given its own space to develop a stronger root system before being planted permanently in the ground. This stage prepares more vigorous coffee trees, capable of establishing deep and lasting roots in the soils of Ebanga.
For almost a year, the coffee trees continue to grow beneath a shade structure. Throughout this period, each plant is carefully monitored to encourage healthy development and vigour. The shade is gradually reduced to prepare the young trees for the conditions of the plantation. Excessive exposure to sunlight can scorch their leaves, while too much shade may produce weak plants with insufficient resilience. The aim is to obtain robust coffee trees, capable of adapting sustainably to their environment.
At Fazenda Kavili, the nursery is the first chapter of every future harvest. Over many months, a carefully selected seed is protected, nourished with manure from the farm and tended until it becomes a young coffee tree vigorous enough to establish its roots in the soils of Ebanga.
In Ebanga, every seed entrusted to the earth carries a lesson in patience: the most precious harvests are always born from the time we are willing to give them.
By Fazenda Kavili
Media © Michael Wolkof
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