Bricks to Bread (Costa Rica)
Bricks to Bread International is a non-profit organisation that helps to build brick ovens for women in rural Costa Rica and Central America in need of a sustainable source of income. Brick ovens not only provide families with a purpose and an income, but they also bring communities together, as the ovens often become a focal point and gathering place in the town. Many Bricks to Bread ovens are placed where residents can share stories and experiences over coffee and freshly baked goods
In 2019/2020, support from the Eurofins Foundation allowed Bricks to Bread to complete a community project empowering eight indigenous Bribri women in the remote Costa Rican village of Barrio Escalante. Eighteen volunteers were involved in the project, and the result meant that the community at large had new access to freshly baked goods. The women developed skills in business management and leadership, serving as role models within their communities. Girls and young women are able to see that they too can aspire towards entrepreneurship, and young men learn to respect women professionally and work with them in a more collaborative way.
In 2021/2022, a grant from the Eurofins Foundation helped launch two new brick-oven bakery microenterprises in Costa Rica and the organisation's first in Honduras. Oven projects provide disadvantaged women and families with a means of financial stability, enabling them to liveabove the national poverty level (equivalent to USD 155/month). These new businesses also gave an additional 1,500+ community members access to freshly baked goods in areas regarded as ‘food deserts.’
The Eurofins Foundation’s support also helped to offset expenses for Bricks to Bread’s first Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Leadership Conference. This three-day conference for 17 new and experienced oven recipients focused on business skills, women empowerment, and entrepreneurial leadership. Furthermore, a portion of funding enabled Bricks to Bread to hire two in-country coordinators who identify and qualify future recipients and provide training and mentoring for 38 women and their immediate families (plus 116 extended family members) who have been in the programme for the past three years.
In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation renewed its support to Bricks to Bread. Growing steadily as an organisation, Bricks to Bread launched five brick-oven bakeries in 2023, supporting 24 new entrepreneurs and 43 new family members (benefiting over 25,000 community members). The Eurofins Foundation’s grant also provided scholarship assistance to fourteen young people who participated in building ovens as volunteers in 2023.
The Eurofins Foundation has renewed its trust and partnership with Bricks to Bread for the period 2023/2025. Thanks to Eurofins’ support, six ovens have or will be built in 2024 and 40+ potential recipients are in the pipeline for future projects. With Eurofins’ support, Bricks to Bread’s will continue to offer programming that empowers female participants to gain culinary, business, finance, and leadership skills, which translate to increased resourcefulness and self-esteem, a greater sense of control and personal diligence, and more self-sufficiency The women who benefit from Brick to Bread’s initiatives become role models of independence, inclusion and equality for future generations by demonstrating their financial success, emotional growth, and positive mindset. They inspire other women and families through networking and mentoring while providing nourishment in areas where there is food insecurity.
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
