These two women are the epitome of inspiration and female empowerment. They stem from humble beginnings and have poured so much love into their successful business. Through the support of PROVIDE & CONQUER, Xinia Solana B. and Maria Lourdes Martinez are providing for their children and showing other women that it is indeed possible to stand on their own two feet.

Xinia, who is originally from the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, came to Santa Teresa 17 years ago in search of work opportunities after leaving her husband. Xinia’s story is unusual because, unlike in most separations, her husband was the one who kept their two kids while she went off independently to find more abundance. Not only did she find a lot more opportunity, she was actually able to make more than double her wages in the booming beach town. Now, that money didn’t come easy. In fact, Xinia worked three jobs while sending almost all of her earnings to her ex-husband for the children. During this time, she even managed to put two of her children through their post-secondary education – one in university and the other as a motorcycle mechanic.

One of the jobs that Xinia had was in the kitchen of a high-end seafood restaurant, Brisas del Mar, which was owned by Canadian chef, Barbara Vag and her husband Jon. Barbara and Xinia became very close friends, and Xinia learned a lot about cooking through her mentorship. Eventually, Barb decided to sell Brisas del Mar, but continued to hire Xinia for her catering and private events. Through their work, Xinia discovered that she had a real passion for curries and soups. Barb offered Xinia a lot of encouragement to follow her heart and start her own business, but Xinia lacked the financial stability and business know-how to confidently move forward.

Maria’s story has many similarities to Xinia’s, although she is originally from Nicaragua. Maria is a mother to four beautiful girls but, sadly, her husband passed away when the youngest was only six and a half months old. She first came to Santa Teresa on her own 13 years ago, and just like Xinia, was in search of work opportunities to provide for her children. With absolutely no experience in restaurants, she was able to secure a position as a nanny instead. And who was she nannying for? Well, she found herself employed by a lovely, but busy, Canadian chef named Barbara Vag. Barb’s time was consumed by her very successful restaurant, Brisas del Mar, and she needed someone to help her with her first and then eventually, three children at home. Barb embraced Maria almost like family, and Maria began to gain some experience in the kitchen through Barb’s subtle mentorship.

Barb eventually went on to open another restaurant in Santa Teresa, Chop It. The team at Chop It was modest, with only 4 staff members – including Maria. It was at Chop It that Maria found her love of cooking and developed her skills in the kitchen. Barb’s expertise on flavours and techniques was inspiring and made Maria an eager student. Sadly, when the global pandemic hit in 2020, Chop It closed its doors and Barb returned to her focus on catering and private events, which she continued to bring Xinia and Maria in on. Barb and Jon started two other restaurants Blu and Cantina and hired Xinia back to run their kitchens. Sadly, both restaurants closed due to personal reasons, one in 2018 and one in 2019.

In 2019, following a tough split with her husband the year before, Barb and her good friend Celina started to talk again after years of silence. Both had walked away from hurtful relationships and talked in earnest about how they could share their pain and turn it into something useful. This is the story of how PROVIDE & CONQUER came to be. Both Barb and Celina were entrepreneurial and had ideas of how empowering women through business opportunities could lead to the possibility of improvement in all areas of their lives. Celina was already producing and distributing a line of kombucha and Barb had talked with Xinia about starting a soup and curry business and so, they decided to help Xinia and eventually Lourdes to take on both businesses while mentoring and financially backing them. This was the beginning of The Loving Spoonful and Vida Sol JUN as the test cases for the larger project they had in mind.

Unfortunately, Celina’s mother fell very ill and Celina left to go home to Argentina to care for her. The first year consisted of the women cooking in Barb’s home kitchen and driving to the weekly farmer’s markets to sell their wares. The kombucha was already being sold in a couple of local restaurants and the neighborhood grocer Green World Store. Green World happily offered to sell the soups and curries and it remains a profitable partnership for them to this day!

Although the closing of Chop It was a loss for both the staff and the community, it did open a window of opportunity. With tourism coming to an abrupt halt, the energy and flow of this town vanished and the restaurant and hospitality industry took a huge hit. For Barb, it was time to pivot and refocus her energies.

For the first two years, the women juggled caring for all of their children and cooking for The Loving Spoonful and producing kombucha – all out of Barb’s family home. Thankfully, Barb was very well connected in the community and could lean on her network in order to help her friends. She fostered a partnership with Kata, the owner of Kubiko Design, that brought a kitchen space into the picture for The Loving Spoonful, in which they could use the space for free for one year paying only for the gas that they use. However, as neither Xinia or Maria had their own vehicle, Barb would drive them to and from the kitchen every single day. In recent months, a generous donation of a vehicle for the business has greatly alleviated the issue of transportation and delivery.

Barb also had a close relationship with family-owned Green World Store, as she purchased from them for Chop It, and nurtured that connection to help source high-quality produce and containers for a reasonable cost. This relationship with Green World Store proved to be very fruitful, as they are also the primary point of sale for The Loving Spoonful’s delicious soups and curries.

At this point in time, The Loving Spoonful and Vida Sol JUN are part-time businesses for Xinia and Maria, as they work three days per week. Both continue to work other jobs for financial security. However, the goal is to expand the business to include other women, empowering them to become entrepreneurs and to create their own financial independence. They hope to offer their products at more locations and, once they receive their permits from the Health & Safety Department, they will be offering their products in all of the local super markets.

For Maria, the dream is to save enough money to build a small home for her, her children, and her children’s children. Amazingly, thanks to these businesses, it seems this dream will come true next year! And for Xinia, financial stability has always been a goal. However, she is a woman who has big dreams. Eventually, she would like to pass on the business of The Loving Spoonful. In fact, she originally studied high-fashion and dreams of creating a small business of turning second hand clothing into new haute-couture designs. She is passionate about helping women to learn skills to provide for themselves, as well as creating business that has a positive impact on both the community and the planet – which fundamentally led her to become a key member of PROVIDE & CONQUER.

The Loving Spoonful and Vida Sol JUN are successful, heart-centered businesses that show that the empowerment of women has a ripple effect. What starts with education, mentorship and support for one, has the power to touch and uplift many. With the help of PROVIDE & CONQUER, Xinia and Maria have accomplished things they would never have imagined and they hope to show other women that they too can achieve anything they want.

The Women of The Loving Spoonful and Vida Sol Jun