Does Egidio Moniz consider himself a Goan or a Brazilian? “It’s like asking me which of my two sons, Nilesh or Ravendra, I like better,” is the quick response to make his case.
Growing up in a village of romping and jostling with his six siblings in his Garden of Eden at Curtorim, he recalls the abundance of fruit yielding trees and the three robusta coffee trees yielding berries which changed from green to red. His grandma would dry, roast and ground the coffee beans into coffee powder for home consumption. Never did he envisage at that age that he would one day be a Coffee King to his Goan counterparts.
He recounts, “Dad’s wisest decision was to move his family to Bombay where he worked. All went to Bombay with the exception of my priest brother who was going through his seminary studies in Goa.”
Egi, as his friends call him, was just a young lad of nine years. They had to move and cross an international border, as Goa was not a part of India then. At that time, he didn’t foresee the future crossing of another international border which would script a different story for him.
His dad was a tough disciplinarian. He made them focus on studies and sports. The Jesuit education at St Mary’s High School in Mazagaon was very privileged. He grew in this ambience of academic, sports and extracurricular activities. And they were close to the local Jesuit Parish just opposite their residence. The Irish and Spanish Jesuits had a positive influence in their formation.
From Bombay, his next stop was Pune. A full-fledged agronomist by 1973, he knocked on the doors of the Department of Agriculture in Goa and was gainfully employed. He was now in his mid-twenties and met the love of his life at a Colva picnic. The lady was none other than a Physics teacher at Fatima Convent, Margao, Lourdes Lobo, born and bred in Uganda.
Destiny has a strange way of weaving its magic. In 1975, his college senior, Gil Rebello from Goa, called him to Brazil. Toying with the idea, he looked at it from all angles. He didn’t know Portuguese to start with. He didn’t know to drive even the Morris Minor. Yet, he decided to take the adventure thrown at him by life. And when he touched Brazil, it was love at first sight. He loved the people and he loved the place. Soon, he entered the portals of Imperial Chemical Industries. He decided it was time he called Lourdes Lobo over to be a part of his journey. She gave up her permanent job at Fatima’s and the two tied the knot in 1977.
On retirement, in 2010-11, he found himself equipped for another journey. But, this time, there was no crossing of borders. Throwing himself full-time into his 32 hectares farm at Araguari, he is now the proud daddy of 4000 Arabica plants per hectare. Incidentally, Araguari is at an altitude of 950 metres above sea level and favourable to the production of gourmet coffee.
Since 1982, he has been farming Arabica Coffee on his 32-hectare farm called Fazenda Goa and he produces the brand called Café Goa. He has all the machinery for his day-to-day work on the farm with two artesian wells, which have the capacity to provide 36 thousand litres of water per hour.
The first stage is harvesting of the coffee. The next stage involves drying the coffee. The humidity has to be reduced to 11 to 12 percent and then it can be processed. In the third stage, the two outer layers of skin are removed. Next is the physical and the censorial classification of coffee. And the last stage deals with the roasting of coffee with the help of computers.
He does consultancy work for an Indian Agrochemical Multinational in Brazil, called UPL – United Phosphorus Limited. And Karnataka had recourse to his expertise in their coffee production. He further went on to disclose proudly that The Agronomist Association for the State of São Paulo awarded him the Agronomist of the Year in Agricultural Sustainability for the year 2020. It was for his lifetime contribution to Sustainability in Brazilian Agriculture.
Does he have any further plans to expand, he responds, “No. Continuity problems. Both sons are surgeons and not interested.” However, he is quick to add, “I’m planning a small project for my village, Curtorim. I plan to distribute six different trees for each chosen family to supplement nutrition.”
Looking at a successful man who took to agriculture, what is his message for the Goan youth? “Work hard, do your best. Maintain Goa’s exclusive charm for the competitive edge in tourism. Study Portuguese. Keep your village Goan,” says Egidio with his vision.
Covid kept him away from Goa, but he plans to be here in eight months, where he’ll catch up with everyone, especially his brother, Joaquim Moniz. He intends to meet the youth. He was all praise for his Jesuit education and the close contacts with them. He terms it as the best thing that happened to him. He was able to transfer his privileged education to educating his two sons and now his grandchildren too will benefit. He is an inspiration to those around him.
Egidio, the producer of Café Goa, is not one of those rich tycoons, one sees in the Hindi films, with their feet up on the desk. This man is affable, warm and exudes the joie de vivre. Goa is looking forward to this Curtorim Project from the man who has proved that he can do it. Who knows, he just might pass on the baton to the youngsters at Curtorim and soon Fazenda Goas might mushroom all around.
(The writer was a high school English teacher, orator, resource faculty a YouTuber and presently a practising advocate.)
