By mothers, for mothers: a gift from a land between volcanoes

Miriam, Lilliam, Karina, María Luisa, Jessica, Kathia, Nelsy, Maryuri.

These are the eight women whose handcrafted baked goods, sweets and arts have gone into a special Mother’s Day box being sold in the northern Costa Rica community of Bijagua. Donations of $15 via PayPal (through close of business on Wednesday) can be used to provide a box for a local mother in this hardworking ecotourism hub, and support the women who have joined forces to produce the handmade gift boxes.

Here’s what local Costa Rican-Australian entrepreneur Pip Kelly (also a mom) has to say about how she’s connecting international donors with this effort from local business Entre Volcanes through a “pay it forward” scheme where you can sponsor a box for a local mother:

Pay it forward during these difficult times and help support women in rural northern Costa Rica this Mother’s Day! Here’s the updated payment link (please select US$: paypal.me/Casitastenorio. You can also make a donation using our email address: info@casitastenorio.com

Help support eight local women in our community by purchasing a box of local delicacies for Mother’s Day (15/08) for just $15… We can then present it to a deserving mother in our local community. While $15 might not be much for you, for these women and their families it makes a big difference, especially at this difficult time with the pandemic.

You can make your payment via Paypal and let Pip know if there is a special mother in the community who you would like us to donate the box to. If not, we will chose a deserving mother on your behalf! 🥰

Each box contains: Lilliam Alpizar’s famous homemade candy (cajetas), Miriam Barrantes’ homemade bread, Maryuri Soto’s delicious rice pudding, Kathy Soto’s amazing arepas, Maria Luis’s homemade jam, Karina Vargas’ desserts, and Nelsy Rodriguez’s handmade present.
All of this will be presented in a box handmade by Jessica Morera.

Please consider joining this lovely effort. Costa Rica is bursting with artisans and ingenious mothers, but it’s particularly nice to see how eight moms have come together to produce something bigger and better than they could have on their own – and how Casitas Tenorio B&B thought of a clever way that international supporters who can’t sample the treats themselves can create a Mother’s Day surprise for someone else.

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; learn how to join my Overwhelmed Writers’ League, every Saturday at 1 pm EST; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! To learn more about how to support Costa Rica during the crisis, visit my COVID-19 section – or for ways to enjoy Costa Rica from afar, visit Virtual Costa Rica.