Inspired by a recent conversation with Lora Whelan at the Eastport Gallery about creativity during the pandemic (the Downeast Maine gallery will be sharing the video on Thursday as part of their Literary Evenings series), I’m dedicating this week to Costa Rican creativity. Up today is a new talent on the country’s publishing scene: cookbook author Maya Paz Bays Salazar, age 9.
Maya is the daughter of the co-founders of Bodhi Surf & Yoga in Uvita, on the Pacific coast. Her parents’ amazing business is a B Corp that has been a font of ingenuity during the COVID-19 crisis, sharing online yoga and other ways to contribute to their enterprise now that they can’t receive international guests. So it’s not surprising that one of the younger members of the family followed suit, creating a downloadable vegetarian cookbook for kids. As the mother of a picky eater who is drawn to the idea of vegetarianism, I’m so thrilled to have a resource like this – and I’m even more thrilled that my daughter now has a role model in Maya.
Her cookbook is creative on two levels: as a culinary creation by an amazing kid, and as a smart way of reaching out to new audiences on the part of her family’s rural tourism microentreprise.
Learn more and watch a video from Maya at the link below. The suggested donation is $10 (you’ll get a donation link when you receive your cookbook to download), and I can tell you that a donation to support Bodhi’s positive social and environmental impact is well worth your while.
If you download Maya’s cookbook, please let me know!
I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! If you want to learn more about how to support Costa Rica during the crisis, visit my COVID-19 section, updated regularly – or for ways to enjoy Costa Rica from afar, visit Virtual Costa Rica.
katherine stanley obando 
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