BRICKS TO BREAD COSTA RICA PROJECTS

MARITZA LAMAS SOLÓRZANO – MONTANO DE BAGACES, GUANACASTE

THE COMMUNITY

Montano consists of approximately 150 widespread homes and an estimated 400 residents. There are two churches; a clinic where the doctor visits three times a month; three grocery stores, a community hall, and transportation twice a day to the nearby town of Bagaces. The area is largely agricultural, but there are very few sources of income, especially for women.

THE FAMILY

Maritza Lamas Solorzano is an enterprising woman. She supports her family with her bread sales and a cow project she has developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Her husband, Álvaro, is unable to work for medical reasons, and together they care for their eleven-year-old grandson, Ian Daniel, who is autistic. Maritza has taken classes in food handling and accounting so she can sell handmade artisanal bread and generate extra income.

LIVES CHANGED

Four days a week, her husband and other family members help her source ingredients, prepare the products, and make deliveries. Doña Mari’s delicacies are successful because she uses healthy ingredients to make donuts; rosquillas (a corn-based delicacy typical of Guanacaste); glazed braids; corn tamales; empanadas filled with pineapple, cheese, or chiverre (a local fruit); and rolls, which are her customers’ favorites.

Doña Mari’s dream is to expand her bakery business and sell to local supermarkets and grocery stores so she can support her family. With a Bricks to Bread oven, she can provide the unique flavor, product variety, and affordable prices that her customers expect and that make her bakery successful.