A Carnegie Mellon University Student Group
PROJECTS
Community Projects We Supported in 2018
FINCA EL BATEY
Building Raised Beds
We built four raised beds to help this farmer in Utuado expand his production and make up for losses sustained by the hurricane. The containers make it easier to manage weeds and will keep the plants and soil from being washed away in the next hurricane.
FINCA EL PARAISO
Clearing the Land
The hurricane washed away part of this farmer in Arecibo's land--along with his house. Weeds, slugs, and snakes quickly took over. We cleared the land and created rows to be planted on contour that would direct the water away from the vegetables should another deluge occur.
ANASCO PLAYA
Reviving the Community Garden
This garden was once the model garden for the entire town, but Hurricane Maria stripped it of food and filled it with trash and weeds. We cleared diapers, drink bottles, steel bars, and tin roofs from the area. Then we cut the grass and trimmed the trees so the community could start planting again.
MARIAS DE AGUADA
Restocking the Coop Clothing Bazaar
The Association for the Well-Being of Barrio Marias in Aguada is one of the few communities on the island that has work programs for the visually impaired. The cooperative offers low-cost career training classes that are largely financed through their thrift store. However, the store was emptied when they gave everything away to those in need after the Hurricane Maria. We brought suitcases full of new and gently-used items for them to sell.
LAS MARIANAS, HUMACAO
Creating a Community Center
Proyecto de Apoyo Mutuo Las Mariana (The Mariana Mutual Assistance Project) was formed as a community-led survival and transformation group in the absence of government assistance following the hurricane. This building was one of the many schools that had been closed as a result of the island's dire financial situation, but the community had plans to turn it into a solar-powered laundry, social space, and job-training facility. In doing so, they hope to take care of the elders and attract more young people to come back as they build a new, local, economy based on sustainable agriculture and mutual assistance.
OFF GRID SOLAR
Helping People Connect to Solar
Off Grid Relief is a team of three friends from Utuado, living in San Juan, that got tired of hearing about their hometown being without power. So they created a Go Fund Me page and started installing solar themselves. We supported them by bringing a suitcase full of the cables and connectors that were too expensive to get on the island.