Give to the Max 2017 – Mothers & Daughters Business Development Training – $2,000 Goal

When you support Bricks to Bread you are helping a mother provide for her family. In Costa Rica opportunities for women to provide income for their families are limited, especially in rural communities. The global expansion of big agricultural businesses and farming is also forcing people out of their jobs. Building a brick oven means rural communities that don’t have access to fresh baked goods do and a family will have a way to send their kids to school, feed them, clothe them, and have a place to live.

In Costa Rica many women follow traditional roles and more often than not are the cooks of their families. Like our first oven, our next oven builds will be run by women and their daughters will assist them. We are using the 2017 Give to the Max campaign to raise funds to provide educational opportunities for these entrepreneurial mothers and daughters.

Bricks to Bread believes it is important for each family to feel secure in their knowledge of how to run their business and feel supported. We ensure they develop the skill sets they need to succeed in two ways:

1. Travel to classes from rural Costa Rican towns can be expensive. Since travel isn’t always an option we provide each family with a basic laptop and help them obtain internet access. We have relationships with local support groups that help women learn how to use their computers. From there they are able to go online to take business and baking courses and have the ability to look up new recipes.

2. Our goal, as we continue to build new ovens, is to develop a strong local support group by connecting all the Bricks to Bread families. By connecting other oven recipients to new oven families we foster peer to peer mentoring. Experienced families are able to help answer questions and provide support with their firsthand knowledge of starting a baking in Costa Rica.

Please help us provide this critical training and support to our mothers and daughters as they work hard to support their families!

Meet Our Next Families

Jenni Bustos Moya & Family

Jenni is a mother of three who lives in the town of Corralillo located in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica. In 2016, the family received a home from Habitat for Humanity Costa Rica, but needs a sustainable income in order to maintain their home while also meeting basic needs.

Currently, Jenni is a housewife and relies on her children’s father to provide for her family. Carlos works as an agricultural worker and makes around $370 dollars a month during the summer and $56 dollars per week cutting grass in the winter. A brick oven would give Jenni an opportunity to provide for her family with a sustainable income that would last year round.

Sra. Daysi Hernandez & Family

Daysi a widow and a mother of four and she is also providing for a brand new grandson. She used to live in San Marcos de Cutris, but moved after her husband lost his battle with leukemia so she could be closer to her mother and sister.

Daysi is the sole provider for her family. She does small sewing projects in order to get by; making roughly $200 a month. Daysi is an immigrant from Nicaragua and has experience with baking and selling bread. In Nicaraqua her mother had a mud oven and baked bread to sell. Daysi spent part of her childhood selling her mother’s bread to their community.