João Araújo

It was nearly two decades ago, with his father's help, that João Araújo, 42 years old, bought his first animals. “There were seven.” Currently, he takes care of more than 150 heads of cattle, mostly of the Cachena breed.

The animals of this native bovine breed, primarily raised in the mountainous area of Minho, between the districts of Viana do Castelo and Braga, are small in size – the Cachena breed is one of the smallest in the world – and are distinguished by their spiral-shaped horns “like corkscrews” and some rusticity, fitting with the region.

This rustic atmosphere is felt in Branda da Aveleira, in the parish of Gave, municipality of Melgaço, on the doorstep of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, where João spends his days. Used since the 12th century, during spring and summer, as a grazing pastures – “the graziers would come with their herds during the hottest time of the year and leave the lower grounds, the winter pastures, free to sow corn,” he recounts – it is now also home to these animals, which graze at an altitude of 1,120 meters, free and in peace.

They feed on corn, “which gives them that marbled fat,” the shepherd explains, and on certified organic feeds. And when treated well, “when they are well taken care of,” they ensure “succulent, pink, and tender” meat, like the one they produce.

We are talking about the meat of Aveleira Bovi Bio, a brand he created after the pandemic that earned him the label of the first organic certified meat in the municipality. You can taste it at O Brandeiro, a local restaurant, or find it in various establishments across Minho, from Monção to Valença, and from Viana do Castelo to Ponte de Lima.