Fazenda Irmãos Chaves

The adventure all began back in June 2019, about 250 km from Luanda, when the Chaves Brothers started the Fazenda Irmãos Chaves project, in the region of Lucala, in the province of Cuanza Norte, in Angola. The family business was dedicated to civil construction and real estate development, however, diversifying the business and having a project geared towards farming was one of their goals. They began by growing coffee, cassava and vegetables, products that grow very well in the region. And soon they realised, on various visits to other farming estates, that, «despite there being a strong investment in agriculture, people haven’t invested as much in tourism and leisure». It was then that they decided to «reconcile the agribusiness project with rural tourism», one of the six brothers, António Chaves, tells us.

Fazenda Irmãos Chaves, in the Lucala region of Cuanza Norte province, opened its doors to tourism in April 2022

When the agricultural project got off the ground, they thought of building a house – a space that grew and gave rise to what we know today as Lodge da Fazenda – the building that houses the 10 suites, living and dining rooms, kitchen, games room and gym.The interior decoration is all down to António’s good taste – he, who once practised law, but who gave up his profession 15 years ago to manage the family business, venturing to Angola. When it came to choosing decorative pieces, he strove to include local handicrafts, as well as furniture and paintings by national artists, most of which he sourced over a two-year period, in order to give the Lodge a more African touch, without forgetting modern details, which gives it the feel of an international project.  

From the construction and property development sector, irmãos chaves has diversified into agribusiness and tourism

The tourism side of the business began in April 2022, when they welcomed their first guest. «For the moment we have 10 suites, but the intention is to grow with bungalows. We’re going to get some of those glamping tents, all very in touch with nature, but with the maximum comfort possible, without spoiling the existing landscape,» he reveals. And he adds, «to tackle all the investment made in the property, the farming side of the business has been developed, and now, with tourism, more revenue will come in.» The Lodge da Fazenda building is also home to a restaurant, which works on a reservation basis, with produce from the property, including meat (kid, suckling pig, duck and chicken), and vegetables. Even the bread is made there, mostly with cassava flour.Most of the essential products for a healthy diet are produced there. And the goal is include getting them to Luanda, or even exporting them outside the country. In other words, making this a business model and not just for the consumption of the Irmãos Chaves group. «At the moment we have 250 employees at the farm. We have a local commitment to hire people from here. We’re talking about people who had no experience in this field and were unemployed, and we trained them. Today they make exemplary workers for us.»