BRICKS TO BREAD COSTA RICA PROJECTS

DAYSI SANDOVAL HERNANDEZ – HORQUETAS DE SARAPIQUI

THE TOWN

Located in the Heredia province, Horquetas sits on the banks of the Horquetas River. The city’s main economic driver is banana production through farms scattered around the region. Since most work is agriculture-based and the culture is very traditional, there are few opportunities for women. Most remain unemployed and at home taking care of the family and the house.

THE FAMILY

Daysi Sandoval Hernandez is a single, widowed mother of four children – Vanesa, Katerin, Cristofer, and Cristal – and grandmother of one (Jose, infant). She has struggled to make ends meet since the death of her husband from leukemia in 2009. She and her children moved from their home to be closer to her mother and sister.  Sra. Daysi did small sewing projects to get by, making roughly $200 a month. She is an immigrant from Nicaragua and had experience as a child with baking and selling bread.

LIVES CHANGED

Since her brick oven was completed in 2018, Sra. Daysi has been baking small batches of breads and offering oven roasted meats to her community. Although Daysi has struggled with selling mass quantities of her products, she hopes to someday open a small cafeteria at her oven site and offer employment to other women in her community.