In the 70s, my parents started a small farm with four dairy cows, during that time milk would be delivered and sold to small collection centers, then delivered to various places across the town.
We used to milk the cows by hand, then cooling the milk in a huge water bath (similar to a tank) before transferring the milk into jugs for daily collection.
It was a costly process especially in summer because the milk could be spoilt easily due to the heat. Eventually, with the increasing numbers of cows, they were moved into a bigger barn. We upgraded the electrical installation in order to install a milking machine and a milk cooler tank. This enabled us to store the milk for a longer lifespan. Instead of dropping the milk at the collection centers, a truck will be sent by the collection center regularly to collect a larger quantity of milk.
Unfortunately, when we reached 20 cows, we had to sacrifice all of our cattle due to brucellosis and tuberculosis diseases prevention in 90s.
After the unfortunate loss, we regained our dairy business again. We invested in higher grade cattle but it was all worth it because the new batch of cattle provided us with a greater quality and quantity of milk.
A new taxation regulation was formed. We were required to pay a large sum of tax in accordance with our milk production quota, we were unable to comply with the new regulation because we were unlikely to earn profits. Hence, we came to a saddening decision to sell all of our cattle.
In 1997, the eldest son of the family, Casimiro, invested in a meat business with just lambs. However, the demand was low. He came up with an alternative solution, he started selling sheep milk. His business begun to improve and an idea struck him. Instead of selling the milk, he could use the milk to produce cheese. Hence, he did and it was the right decision.
There was a market for the cheese. Over the years, with the help from the family and staff, the cheese business became more stable. Our brand was officially launched in 1999.
Now we have a herd of beloved sheep and a small cheese factory.