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<\/a>The outcome of their efforts was the lodge-cum-farm Cafezal em Flor<\/a>\u00a0(or Coffee Fields in Bloom). Their 20 years working with agritourism led to an invitation to lecture during the International Coffee Week<\/a>, which wrapped up this Friday (22) in Belo Horizonte<\/a>, Minas Gerais. Their presentation covered business opportunities in coffee farms as a novel tourism attraction. \u201cThis is not a fantasy world. Visitors are present with their bodies. They feel the warmth, the scents… It moves people,\u201d notes Marcia.<\/p>\n At the property, they built facilities with reused construction material. Cottages, a country food restaurant and lots of crops. And then they began welcoming travelers who were interested in the experience. \u201cWe kept investing and studying. We came up with the ideas and drew inspiration from wine tourism, for instance. We\u2019re environmentalists, so we have a true concern with the area. Our farming is low impact and we\u2019re certified by Cooxup\u00e9 (the Guaxup\u00e9 Coffee Farmers Cooperative),\u201d says Tuffi.<\/p>\n The couple now works with special coffees together with their son Mateus Bichara, who\u2019s pictured above with their parents. In the city where people used to work only with coffee with poorer quality and sold it cheaper, the couple also bet on high-quality beans. They were pioneers in bringing new varieties of the plan, processes, and machinery.<\/p>\n In the beginning, neighbors were bewildered, but the couple says that this has also pushed forward a local change. \u201cWhen we bought a roaster, they came to see it. Many bought it too,\u201d Tuffi remembered.<\/p>\n The Bicharas\u2019 production is focused on the domestic market. \u201cNow, our coffee is sold at out inn and other sites. We\u2019re creating an e-commerce now. Our dream is exporting it,\u201d Marcia said. For them, a project leads to another. \u201cWe\u2019re small, we don\u2019t have a large structure for production. Tourism has helped bringing the consumer to us,\u201d the businesswoman pointed out.<\/p>\n *The journalist traveled by invitation of the International Coffee Week.<\/em><\/p>\n Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum & Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>