Santo Antão

COMMUNITY

Santa Isabel

Santa Isabel is a community with around a hundred residents who live essentially from agriculture close to the Cova/Ribeira da Torre/Paul Natural Park. According to the community, local products have a special flavor thanks to the fertility of the soil and climate and it is precisely these elements that make Arabica coffee unique.

The community can only be reached on foot or by donkey with a 3-hour walk. The route is dominated by coffee plantations and other fruit trees, such as guava and local orange groves.

On the 4th of July, Santa Isabel´s day (Saint Elizabeth's Day) is celebrated, a very important date for the entire community. After the celebration of Mass, each house prepares a lunch to which all those present, members of the community and visitors are invited. The celebration is animated by the rhythm of the tambourine, the banquet and popular night dances.

THE EXPERIENCES:

  • Sleep at Pousada do “Cantinho do Café”, managed by the community association
  • Eating local cuisine in family homes
  • Visits with community guides
  • Possibility of lunch or traditional snack

THE WORKSHOPS OF SANTA ISABEL

DISCOVER COFFEE
Santa Isabel coffee, an Arabic specialty, is an excellence that is still little recognized internationally, but it has a long history, made up of sacrifices and families.
YOU DISCOVER
THE JOURNEY ON THE DONKEY
Living in an isolated community immersed in the mountains requires great willpower, a great capacity for adaptation and sacrifice and a strong degree of problem solving.
YOU DISCOVER

THE WORKSHOPS OF SANTA ISABEL

DISCOVER COFFEE
Santa Isabel coffee, an Arabic specialty, is an excellence that is still little recognized internationally, but it has a long history, made up of sacrifices and families.
YOU DISCOVER
THE JOURNEY ON THE DONKEY
Living in an isolated community immersed in the mountains requires great willpower, a great capacity for adaptation and sacrifice and a strong degree of problem solving.
YOU DISCOVER
ANOTHER CAPE VERDE

The community tells its story

The community tells its story
Jose Silva Mello
Here in Santa Isabel we are farmers, we grow potatoes, beans, sweet potatoes and lots and lots of coffee. My name is José Silva Mello, I'm fifty-seven years old and I live with my wife and our youngest grandson. Our coffee is so good because of the water system we use: rain. It all depends on it: the flavor is very concentrated, not strong but bright. Santa Isabel coffee is highly sought after, but production depends solely on nature.
Jose Silva Mello
In August it is planted, in April it is harvested. We call the grains that fall spontaneously “top coffee”, mouse coffee, because you have to do it very small to get them out of the ground, often digging a little under the leaves and soil. We leave the beans in the sun for two weeks so that the skin falls off on its own. The amount depends on the rain, this year for example we had one week of harvest, next time it will be better.
Jose Silva Mello
It works like this, with rotation: one year is good, one year less. This is not only true for coffee, but also for cassava, sweet potatoes, potatoes, in short, for all crops. We sell coffee in the city, some ground and some beans because many people like to grind it themselves.
Jose Silva Mello
This is our home, our community. Yes, it's not easy to get there and get out, get to the city. But here we have the countryside, the fresh air, the tranquility and security of a place we know and where, despite the difficulties, we raised our children and managed to get them to study. During the holidays the family returns, Santa Isabel comes to life and returns as populous as before, then the houses fill up and voices echo through the mountains. You have to live it, right?
RETURN TO THE ISLAND