On a hilltop in southeast Brazil, 4,500 feet above the surrounding landscape, is a coffee plantation with a history of more than 150 years—five generations. The owner is Ellen Fontana, a woman 1to both her land and her family. A respect 2nature contributes to her business; she employs sustainable (可持续的) practices to 3 water, avoid pesticides and 4greenhouse gas emissions. Her devotion and attention helped her 5award-winning specialty coffee and a successful coffee business, which she hopes will 6through future generations.
But in the past few years, her vision of the future has been 7. The planet is changing 8 and whether coffee production will continue in her area in 20 or 50 years is naturally a9.
“I heard from my grandparents that it used to rain a lot in January, and the dry and rainy seasons were more clearly10," Fontana says. "But now, for a few years, we have noticed11 rainfall, high temperature and hail (冰雹)."
In 2014, Fontana's home experienced its worst12 in nearly a century, leading to a rare water crisis. And February 2020 was the rainiest month in the region's13 history, resulting in floods.
14 Fontana has earned more than many, thanks to her hilltop location and a significant area of natural forest that she and her family have15 on their land.
She says, "We are in a region with a lot of preserved forest, and we have a lot of coffee. This climate16 a lot in the balance of crops. I think that living in a balance between coffee production and the environment that we live in provides a17 not only for our family but for all the other people who will18 these resources. I think this19 is good for the business, good for the20 and good for our soul."
