BRICKS TO BREAD COSTA RICA PROJECTS
SAN JERONIMO COMMUNITY OVEN
THE COMMUNITY
San Jerónimo de Perez Zeledon is a rural town of about 600 inhabitants, located in the southern region of the province of San José at the base of the highest mountain in Costa Rica, Cerro Chirripó. For 75 years, San Jerónimo’s economy has depended on the production of crops like coffee, citrus and bananas. Only since the mid-2010s has San Jerónimo become a tourist destination for Costa Ricans and foreigners seeking adventure and rural tourism. An aqueduct installed in 2023 brought drinking waterto the community. Men work in the fields but their salaries barely support household essentials. Some women find jobs during the coffee season, others sell produce to tourists, but it isn’t enough. The vast majority struggle to find a sustainable and reliable source of income.
THE PROJECT
Blanca Mora Mora (age 58), Maritza Quirós Piedra (61), Saray Rojas Piedra (44), and Lisbeth Calderón Mora (50) are four enterprising, ambitious women with experience and training in baking, food handling, finance and cash management, project management, farming, customer service, and business administration. Altogether, they support 12 family members including students and aging parents.
In collaboration with the Peace Corps and ADI (Asociación de Desarrollo Integral), their local community development association, the women are partnering with Bricks to Bread to build an oven on a beautiful lot next to the ADI office in the center of San Jerónimo. The location is ideal as it’s a place where dozens of tourists and residents pass by weekly en route to the Cerro Chirripó mountain and other area attractions.
LIVES CHANGED
With ADI and Peace Corps support, the bakers’ committee will manage a local artisan products store for the benefit of the community with a special focus on women. They imagine a picturesque gathering place where visitors to the community can sit and enjoy delicious bread and buy local products such as ground coffee, soaps, bags, souvenirs, and other handicrafts made by the women of the town and surrounding area.
This community oven will serve as a destination where visitors can learn how a wood-fired oven works, and promote future visits to the town by first-time tourists.
