Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena and Monteverde
Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena and Monteverde
Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena and Monteverde
4.5
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Restaurants
100 within 5 kms
Attractions
31 within 10 kms
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
89 reviews
Excellent
55
Very good
20
Average
9
Poor
5
Terrible
0
Boyd N
Ogden, UT6 contributions
Mar 2020
If you want a home made Tico breakfast or lunch in Monteverde for a very competitive price. The food was awesome and the blackberry soda was beyond belef. We also bought several souvenoirs at very reasonable prices. One of a kind souvenoirs made by local artisans. It was across the street from our AIRBNB.
Written March 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
southmouth
Hampshire, UK879 contributions
May 2023
What a fantastic find! The shop has locally made crafts with labels on to say the individual who made them - this is so much better than buying from the big stores. We ate lunch on two successive days here - typical Costa Rican food, cooked in front of you and packed full of flavour. I can highly recommend the vegan tortilla - I had this same dish two days in a row, it was that good. We will definitely be back for more if we are in the area again.
Written July 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Claire C
Vancouver, Canada91 contributions
Mar 2015 • Family
While staying in La Fortuna, we found out that the women at CASEM serve lunch too: it was delicious, typical, and the price very right. We were happy knowing our money went towards women and the community.
Written March 22, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear traveler:
First of all we would like to thank you for writing a review about CASEMCOOP, the local women artisans Souvenir Shop and Restaurant. For those of you who wrote an excellent review we deeply appreciate your visit and your support.
Second of all we must let all the first 70 reviewers know that we were unaware that there was a page on TripAdvisor and sadly report that someone else was taking advantage of our humble business and lack of social media skills and also taking advantage of visitors like you. We could not believe someone had created this page to sell tours and bring people they had previously charged through a web page that was not ours. We apologize for the visitors who were victims of such scam and we announce that we are in full control of the page as for TODAY but can't do anything about the first 70 reviews and all the pictures and comments from travelers before today.
Some people were taking advantage of our shop and restaurant to also sell horse back riding tours and bird watching tours, it was not us. We asked TA to delete the page so we can start a new one but they won't. We ask them to delete bad reviews, pictures and comments but it will not happen. So now we have a page that, thanks to a local friend we were able to claim, we have to manage and start responding to reviews and do everything to make sure our small company will thrive despite what has already been done on the page without our consent and knowledge.
For those of you who wrote a bad review, we are sorry we had no clue we have been evaluated and criticized and that there was a page that was not even good enough on the web with false info for all our visitors. The information posted and everything else was not ours.
Thank you for understanding and we apologize for all those visitors who were not treated properly and who were lied to for the same person who created this listing without our permission and knowledge. All we can do now is continue managing this page because TA won't delete it so we can create our own.
Please make sure to get back to us if you may need any assistance from our end in the Monteverde Community or if you have any inquiries.
Sincerely yours,
The Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena & Monteverde
La Cuchara de la Abuela Restaurant
Written March 19, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bernardo L
London, UK5 contributions
Aug 2014 • Family
We went on a family trip to Costa Rica in August and we decided to buy most of souvenirs in a local shop\factory. CASEM seemed to be the perfect option. A cooperative of 90 members(87 women and 3 men) all very skilled in art work, producing all varieties of presents and using local materials, sometimes recycled wood.We bought quite a few items, all handmade locally, such a Jewellery box made of balsa wood and brightly coloured with the most unique pattern(made by Ana Zuniga,according to the clerk at the counter);and a pair of bowls made of Guapinon( crafted by Carlos). We left proud to pay a bit more to contribute to a local business. But as we moved towards Manuel Antonio we found in EVERY single souvenir shop the same pair of bowls like the ones Carlos made and the very same unique colourful jewellery box made by Ana Zuniga. An so we found them at Alajuela and at San Jose airport. The owner of a small craft shop near Poas volcano told us most of the craft work done in Costa Rica is made in Sarchi, most of them by hand with local materials, but the Ana Zuniga jewellery box was a product imported from Colombia and the " Costa Rica" letters were added later.As the intermediary was not very honest this shop had stopped selling the items.
So trying to see the big picture: a) CASEM produces most of their products locally and are hand made, being Ana Zuniga one their top stars producing several thousands of unique balsa wood boxes sold all over the country, b) CASEM produce most of their products locally and are hand made, and they reproduce some products in the market such us the box or the bowls, c) CASEM produces some products locally but they import others and they sell them as "locally hand made". I am afraid I left CR believing the third one. Don't get me wrong: I am sure CASEM produce truly incredible pieces of art, and as Alicia mentioned bellow, items sold in the front room are labelled with the artist name and wood variety. What we bought was at the back room, not tagged,with no label, but we were still told it was hand made and painted. Why didn't they tagged them if they were as original as the ones in the front room?.Nothing wrong with selling some products not locally made as far as they represent CR culture but the base for a business, coop or not, is honesty with their clients.If made by CASEM, please label it. If not, do not say is locally made because same item will be found all over the country and will create suspicions such as mine. Very disappointed...
So trying to see the big picture: a) CASEM produces most of their products locally and are hand made, being Ana Zuniga one their top stars producing several thousands of unique balsa wood boxes sold all over the country, b) CASEM produce most of their products locally and are hand made, and they reproduce some products in the market such us the box or the bowls, c) CASEM produces some products locally but they import others and they sell them as "locally hand made". I am afraid I left CR believing the third one. Don't get me wrong: I am sure CASEM produce truly incredible pieces of art, and as Alicia mentioned bellow, items sold in the front room are labelled with the artist name and wood variety. What we bought was at the back room, not tagged,with no label, but we were still told it was hand made and painted. Why didn't they tagged them if they were as original as the ones in the front room?.Nothing wrong with selling some products not locally made as far as they represent CR culture but the base for a business, coop or not, is honesty with their clients.If made by CASEM, please label it. If not, do not say is locally made because same item will be found all over the country and will create suspicions such as mine. Very disappointed...
Written August 16, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear traveler:
First of all we would like to thank you for writing a review about CASEMCOOP, the local women artisans Souvenir Shop and Restaurant. For those of you who wrote an excellent review we deeply appreciate your visit and your support.
Second of all we must let all the first 70 reviewers know that we were unaware that there was a page on TripAdvisor and sadly report that someone else was taking advantage of our humble business and lack of social media skills and also taking advantage of visitors like you. We could not believe someone had created this page to sell tours and bring people they had previously charged through a web page that was not ours. We apologize for the visitors who were victims of such scam and we announce that we are in full control of the page as for TODAY but can't do anything about the first 70 reviews and all the pictures and comments from travelers before today.
Some people were taking advantage of our shop and restaurant to also sell horse back riding tours and bird watching tours, it was not us. We asked TA to delete the page so we can start a new one but they won't. We ask them to delete bad reviews, pictures and comments but it will not happen. So now we have a page that, thanks to a local friend we were able to claim, we have to manage and start responding to reviews and do everything to make sure our small company will thrive despite what has already been done on the page without our consent and knowledge.
For those of you who wrote a bad review, we are sorry we had no clue we have been evaluated and criticized and that there was a page that was not even good enough on the web with false info for all our visitors. The information posted and everything else was not ours.
Thank you for understanding and we apologize for all those visitors who were not treated properly and who were lied to for the same person who created this listing without our permission and knowledge. All we can do now is continue managing this page because TA won't delete it so we can create our own.
Please make sure to get back to us if you may need any assistance from our end in the Monteverde Community or if you have any inquiries.
Sincerely yours,
The Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena & Monteverde
La Cuchara de la Abuela Restaurant
P/S Dear Bernardo L:
We have no idea who is Ana and we have been told that the jewel boxes we have in the room for other artisans who are not locals, are made by a cooperative of women in another part of the country. It would have been nice to know that you had some problems with the products if you have contacted us. Once more, we had no clue there was a TA page and we believed the person that brings those jewel boxes and we always thought we were helping other women from our country as well. However now that you decided to question our values and honesty publicly instead of asking us, and finding out that someone dishonest created this page and TA won't delete it, we have no choice but to take over a page that we did not want in the first place.
Sorry you think you were cheated but we did not do that. We just don't do that to visitors. It is a shame that so many people now a days won't do the right thing and will take advantage of humble, honest people.
Have a nice rest of the year and it would be nice that before you share such negative conclusions with the world you would ask those who you are about to affect permanently for an explanation. In fact, thanks to your negative comment, one of our local friends found out about the existence of this page we now have to manage with good and bad reviews. Worried for our local women group, this friend came to our shop and mentioned the review and our community was surprised and hurt about this. We already reported the incident to our local government because we are a small community and most people are honest and we all know each other. In a sad way we have to thank you for causing such a sad impression for our associates and neighbors that we discover someone was taking advantage of us with a false page.
Blessings in whatever you do.
Written March 19, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kath B
Zurich, Switzerland16 contributions
Oct 2014
This artist's cooperative has a good selection of locally-made products like beautiful (and sustainable) cooking utensils carved out of wood, ornaments, jewelry, pillow covers, bags, paintings, and so on.
There is an area they describe as "non-associates," which is pretty much the mass-produced tourist stuff you will find all over Costa Rica, but it is separated from the cooperative and declared as such.
The real draw is a wonderful little soda in the back -- affordable and delicious. It's in the same area as another wonderful attraction, Bat Jungle, and across from Monteverde's "Whole Foods" and a pretty cafe called Stella's Bakery.
All in all, Casem is well worth a stop if you're a conscientious tourist looking to support the local community.
There is an area they describe as "non-associates," which is pretty much the mass-produced tourist stuff you will find all over Costa Rica, but it is separated from the cooperative and declared as such.
The real draw is a wonderful little soda in the back -- affordable and delicious. It's in the same area as another wonderful attraction, Bat Jungle, and across from Monteverde's "Whole Foods" and a pretty cafe called Stella's Bakery.
All in all, Casem is well worth a stop if you're a conscientious tourist looking to support the local community.
Written October 3, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear traveler:
First of all we would like to thank you for writing a review about CASEMCOOP, the local women artisans Souvenir Shop and Restaurant. For those of you who wrote an excellent review we deeply appreciate your visit and your support.
Second of all we must let all the first 70 reviewers know that we were unaware that there was a page on TripAdvisor and sadly report that someone else was taking advantage of our humble business and lack of social media skills and also taking advantage of visitors like you. We could not believe someone had created this page to sell tours and bring people they had previously charged through a web page that was not ours. We apologize for the visitors who were victims of such scam and we announce that we are in full control of the page as for TODAY but can't do anything about the first 70 reviews and all the pictures and comments from travelers before today.
Some people were taking advantage of our shop and restaurant to also sell horse back riding tours and bird watching tours, it was not us. We asked TA to delete the page so we can start a new one but they won't. We ask them to delete bad reviews, pictures and comments but it will not happen. So now we have a page that, thanks to a local friend we were able to claim, we have to manage and start responding to reviews and do everything to make sure our small company will thrive despite what has already been done on the page without our consent and knowledge.
For those of you who wrote a bad review, we are sorry we had no clue we have been evaluated and criticized and that there was a page that was not even good enough on the web with false info for all our visitors. The information posted and everything else was not ours.
Thank you for understanding and we apologize for all those visitors who were not treated properly and who were lied to for the same person who created this listing without our permission and knowledge. All we can do now is continue managing this page because TA won't delete it so we can create our own.
Please make sure to get back to us if you may need any assistance from our end in the Monteverde Community or if you have any inquiries.
Sincerely yours,
The Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena & Monteverde
La Cuchara de la Abuela Restaurant
Written March 19, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
219alicias
Sandy, UT43 contributions
Jun 2014 • Friends
After volunteering at CASEM for two weeks, I can tell you, this is NOT the average craft store. This Cooperative was created to allow women, and now men, to escape poverty and isloation, increase their self esteem and self worth, and provide a living wage for their family. Every item in the large front room of the store has a tag with a number that corresponds to an artist's story documented in a book in the middle of the store. Each of those artisans receives over 50% of the proceeds of the sale immediately; 15% is set aside to be given to them upon retirement, and the remaining goes to ensure the proper running of CASEM. The artisans are encouraged to spend time working in the store, attending workshops, and building relationships. Items in the back room are more commercial, but still benefit CASEM.
The restaurant in the back also supports CASEM, and after eating lunch there for two weeks straight, I can guarantee you that you will be tasting authentic local Tico cooking, just like a Costa Rican abuela would make.
If you take the time to peruse the store, and get to know the artisans' stories, you will leave so much richer! And if you do stop by, please tell Dona Nery and Marina at the check out, and Dona Annabelli in the restaurant, that Alicia says hi!
The restaurant in the back also supports CASEM, and after eating lunch there for two weeks straight, I can guarantee you that you will be tasting authentic local Tico cooking, just like a Costa Rican abuela would make.
If you take the time to peruse the store, and get to know the artisans' stories, you will leave so much richer! And if you do stop by, please tell Dona Nery and Marina at the check out, and Dona Annabelli in the restaurant, that Alicia says hi!
Written June 22, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear traveler:
First of all we would like to thank you for writing a review about CASEMCOOP, the local women artisans Souvenir Shop and Restaurant. For those of you who wrote an excellent review we deeply appreciate your visit and your support.
Second of all we must let all the first 70 reviewers know that we were unaware that there was a page on TripAdvisor and sadly report that someone else was taking advantage of our humble business and lack of social media skills and also taking advantage of visitors like you. We could not believe someone had created this page to sell tours and bring people they had previously charged through a web page that was not ours. We apologize for the visitors who were victims of such scam and we announce that we are in full control of the page as for TODAY but can't do anything about the first 70 reviews and all the pictures and comments from travelers before today.
Some people were taking advantage of our shop and restaurant to also sell horse back riding tours and bird watching tours, it was not us. We asked TA to delete the page so we can start a new one but they won't. We ask them to delete bad reviews, pictures and comments but it will not happen. So now we have a page that, thanks to a local friend we were able to claim, we have to manage and start responding to reviews and do everything to make sure our small company will thrive despite what has already been done on the page without our consent and knowledge.
For those of you who wrote a bad review, we are sorry we had no clue we have been evaluated and criticized and that there was a page that was not even good enough on the web with false info for all our visitors. The information posted and everything else was not ours.
Thank you for understanding and we apologize for all those visitors who were not treated properly and who were lied to for the same person who created this listing without our permission and knowledge. All we can do now is continue managing this page because TA won't delete it so we can create our own.
Please make sure to get back to us if you may need any assistance from our end in the Monteverde Community or if you have any inquiries.
Sincerely yours,
The Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena & Monteverde
La Cuchara de la Abuela Restaurant
Written March 19, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
kevin r
91 contributions
Apr 2013
The art was mediocre, hard for me to say that as an artist but some stuff was mass produced mixed in with some local craft. And really expensive. They have a book of artists profiles but it's incomplete and is not possible to match the art with the artist.
Written April 21, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear traveler:
First of all we would like to thank you for writing a review about CASEMCOOP, the local women artisans Souvenir Shop and Restaurant. For those of you who wrote an excellent review we deeply appreciate your visit and your support.
Second of all we must let all the first 70 reviewers know that we were unaware that there was a page on TripAdvisor and sadly report that someone else was taking advantage of our humble business and lack of social media skills and also taking advantage of visitors like you. We could not believe someone had created this page to sell tours and bring people they had previously charged through a web page that was not ours. We apologize for the visitors who were victims of such scam and we announce that we are in full control of the page as for TODAY but can't do anything about the first 70 reviews and all the pictures and comments from travelers before today.
Some people were taking advantage of our shop and restaurant to also sell horse back riding tours and bird watching tours, it was not us. We asked TA to delete the page so we can start a new one but they won't. We ask them to delete bad reviews, pictures and comments but it will not happen. So now we have a page that, thanks to a local friend we were able to claim, we have to manage and start responding to reviews and do everything to make sure our small company will thrive despite what has already been done on the page without our consent and knowledge.
For those of you who wrote a bad review, we are sorry we had no clue we have been evaluated and criticized and that there was a page that was not even good enough on the web with false info for all our visitors. The information posted and everything else was not ours.
Thank you for understanding and we apologize for all those visitors who were not treated properly and who were lied to for the same person who created this listing without our permission and knowledge. All we can do now is continue managing this page because TA won't delete it so we can create our own.
Please make sure to get back to us if you may need any assistance from our end in the Monteverde Community or if you have any inquiries.
Sincerely yours,
The Women Artisans Cooperative Santa Elena & Monteverde
La Cuchara de la Abuela Restaurant
Written March 19, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Katie W
Seattle, WA15 contributions
Apr 2021
Hidden in the back of a craft store is this delicious local menu of Costa Rican food. Highly recommend The adjacent cafe has great smoothies, coffee, and pastries as well.
Written April 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katrina Julia
Atlanta, GA330 contributions
Feb 2021
Loved this place!!! Awesome selection of souvenirs & supporting local entrepreneurs. The lunch at Cuchara de Abuela yummy typical Costa Rican casado & fresh juice at great prices! Yes please!
I stopped here several hours after spending my morning at Stellas across the street, came here to shop and have lunch, and then headed to Children's Eternal Rain Forest for a hike - less than 10 min away.
I stopped here several hours after spending my morning at Stellas across the street, came here to shop and have lunch, and then headed to Children's Eternal Rain Forest for a hike - less than 10 min away.
Written February 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TrexN
Calgary157 contributions
Jan 2020
Fabulous local food at very reasonable prices. Lots of beautiful souvenirs hand-made by local women; do your shopping here. A good bakery with great bread.
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yes it does! We are really sorry no one replied to you when you asked this question. We had no idea someone dishonest had created this page to trick tourists and make a profit. We recently discovered this awful situation and TA will not delete the page. The only solution they offered was to write that our business is closed and that is not so.
We apologize for the delayed answer and hope that we can get TA to do the right thing and delete our page so we can create our own page officially and not have to keep one we did not want in the first place.
Written April 12, 2019
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