BRICKS TO BREAD COSTA RICA PROJECTS

THE LORÍA WOMEN – BIJAGUA DE UPALA

THE COMMUNITY

Bijagua de Upala gets its name from the Bijagua plants used by early settlers to wrap tamales, a typical native dish. Located in the rainforest between Tenorio Volcano National Park and Jorge Manuel Dengo Miravalles National Park, this area attracts nature enthusiasts for its organic farming and outdoor adventures. Still, the region is rural and underdeveloped. The community needs options for employment. There are no companies nearby and no transportation available to take them outside of Bijagua. Two grocery stores about a quarter mile away provide only commercial bread. Some women find work in restaurants, or they take care of children whose parents go to work as teachers, professors, and nurses in other places. Others are housekeepers in the homes of families who can afford them, while others, like the Loría sisters, are farmers and sell their own crops.

THE FAMILY

Ceydi and Lilliana Loría, two single adult sisters, and their mother, Zeneyda, have financially struggled to support their family farm since the death of their father and husband in 2017. A talented agriculturalist, Lilliana was growing organic produce, herbs, and ornamental plants and sold her harvest in local markets. Ceydi, a natural baker, was working long hours, underpaid and discriminated against, in the hot kitchen of a local restaurant.

Lilliana’s son, Luis, dropped out of college to come home and help support his family, working in the same local restaurant under the same unfair conditions. In 2019, the Loría women were introduced to Bricks to Bread through a Peace Corps volunteer and our staff have been working with them ever since.

Approved for a Bricks to Bread oven in 2021, their investment in a bakery business meant completing entrepreneurial tasks that were new to them. Fear and uncertainty prevented them from making progress for two long years. With steady guidance, these soft-spoken, humble sisters were ready for construction in March of 2023 and their tears christened their new oven and kitchen.

LIVES CHANGED

Once Ceydi and Lilliana began baking, they never looked back! In fact, they regularly sold out of their sweet breads, filled loaves, sandwich buns, knot rolls, and much more! They host new Bricks to Bread applicants and entrepreneurs along with volunteer groups, neighbors, Ceydi’s co-workers, and many others.

ONE YEAR LATER

One year later, the Loria bakery is thriving, and so is the confidence of these incredible women! Community members helped them paint walls, acquire sleek wooden tables and chairs, and add glass windows framed by lace curtains. They paved the entire bakery floor and added a bathroom for their customers!

In this beautiful space, the sisters alternate baking days with selling days, and customers rave about the traditional and unique flavors of bread and pizza baked in a wood-burning oven – something not found anywhere else in their town. Visitors love watching Ceydi and Lilliana in the kitchen and taking photos of the sisters removing fresh hot baked goods from the oven. Many stop to see what the oven is all about and return later with their families for pizza parties, roasted chicken dinners, and the daily essentials – coffee and a pastry.

For a video tour of the Loria bakery and to learn more about how their hard work and perseverance are paying off, check out this video from our YouTube channel.