[Impact Report]
la maraña
We’re so excited to share our year with you... Presenting our 2023+ Impact Report. As we approach the end of another year full of challenges and achievements, we take take a look back at the most significant milestones of the last twelve months. 2023 was an incredible year of closing projects, exciting new collaborations, and strengthening our commitment to the just transition of our communities towards more livable, participatory and sustainable environments. Here’s a snapshot of our year seen from our five program areas.
Participatory Design Workshop held in collaboration with Urbe Apie for their community garden: Huerto Feliz.
Design+Management Our Design+Management area aims to accompany communities in the development of design and construction projects that contribute to improving their quality of life and collective living dynamics. Through the Participatory Design Laboratory we seek to ensure these processes are horizontal, participatory and sensitive to the needs and intelligence of each community, also contributing to their capacity to adapt to the challenges of climate change. From the Laboratory we also provide technical consulting tools, link communities with similar projects and help connect them with additional grant opportunities.
Cangri and Paco mark the entryway to Urbe Apie’s Plaza Feliz, located in Caguas’ historic urban center.
Snapshot 2023+
Construction projects
Aguadilla
Caguas
Loíza Loíza
Asociación de Pescadores de la Villa del Ojo Fishing Facilities
Urbe Apie Community Orchard
P.A.Y.E Play+Reading Area
4
16
$68K
Participatory Design Workshops
In community grants
2
New projects
Loíza
Amad TEPACAM Tsunami Escape Tower +Community Kitchen
“So grateful to La Maraña for this workshop[...]. It’s days like these I’m reminded all the hard work is worthwhile”. 6 active projects across 5 municipalities in Puerto Rico.
Ahisamar, Casa Borges
Segu nda Convocatoria
20
Community proposals
70% lead by women
50% promote food sovereignty
55% promote arts+culture
A year for new alliances...
Casa Borges Community Cultural Center+Orchard
2023 was an unprecedented year in terms of new collaborations. We received a total of 20 applications in the Second Call for the Participatory Design Laboratory, adding two new projects in Loíza: [1] Piñones Learn and Emprende (P.A.Y.E.), whom we accompanied in the design+construction of a play and reading area, and [2] AMAD TEPACAM, who are building a community kitchen and tsunami escape tower for their multipurpose center on the coast of Medianía Alta. The projects that submitted to the Lab this year also resulted in specific collaborations with: Casa Borges (Naguabo), Acción Valerosa (Ciales) and Huerto Callejón Trujillo (Ponce), through the Food Sovereignty Fund. In collaboration with the fishermen of Crash Boat, we managed to install a shipping container fitted to sell fresh fish, a step towards the reconstruction of their fishing facilities. Finally in Caguas, we successfully closed our collaboration with Urbe Apie by inaugurating improvements in the Plaza+Huerto Feliz.
Acción Valerosa Escuela de Artes + Música + Agricultura
In 2024 we will begin a third cycle of the Participatory Design Lab with two new community projects, prioritizing projects working with climate justice and adaptation.
2024+
Food Sovereignty Five years after Irma and María, the devastaing impact of Hurricane Fiona in September 2022 once again shed light on the fragility of food access in Puerto Rico. Hundreds of farms were damaged and many lost their crops. Looking to strengthen the local food production industry in the face of climate change, La Maraña developed the Food Sovereignty Fund, an initiative that seeks to support farmers and fishermen on the island. Puerto Rico imports close to 85% of its food; through the Fund we aim to reduce that figure through direct and sustained support for local food production projects.
FONDO DE SOBERANÍA ALIMENTARIA
Carlos Schwartz working on his farm, Agronat Finca Agroecológica, located in San Lorenzo.
Snapshot 2023+
15
14 +$55k +340
Food projects
Municipalities impacted
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
In grants and tools+equipment
Acres of agricultural land
15 active projects in 14 municipalities in Puerto Rico.
[1] Tadilka (La microFinca), [2] Fresh basil (Finca Vilella), [3] Erid (Huerto Feliz), [4] Moisés (Adicto a la Tierra), [5] Vitín (Asoc. de Pescadores de la Villa del Ojo), [6] Ada (Hacienda Las Malcriá), [7] Cassava (Agronat), [8] Josué (Finca La Jungla), [9] Fresh fish (Asoc. de Pescadores Raúl Maldonado), [10] Omar (Finca Vereda), [11] Pancho the Bull (Finca El Vapor), [12] Marta (Finca El Reverdecer), [13] Juan (Huerto Semilla), [14] White rooster (Jardín Pedro Flores), [15] Vegetable mandala (Huerto Callejón Trujillo), [16] Naia’s daughter (Nueva Cosecha)
10 +125 +260 +135 +1TB
Work brigades
Volunteers signed up
Hours of volunteer work
Participating projects
Lunches made with local produce
Audiovisual material
A year for sprouting roots...
Since Hurricane Fiona, the Food Sovereignty Fund has managed to raise more than $50,000, directly benefiting 15 agricultural projects throughout Puerto Rico. The first phase of support consisted of $1,200 grants to address the most pressing needs in each project. This monetary support was followed a series of volunteer work brigades. Over several weeks, furrows were weeded, fences were erected and chicken coops were repaired, among other activities that helped mitigate the damage caused by the hurricane. As part of the Fund's efforts, we have also begun the distribution of dozens of copies of “Siembra Boricua!”, an agroecological agriculture manual by Plenitud PR through the #SiembraBoricuaChallenge, which in addition to the book awarded the winning agricultural projects with a $250 grant in Finca El Reverdecer (Ponce) reimbursements for the purchase of equipment Hacienda Las Malcriá (Adjuntas) and/or tools. La microFinca (Camuy) Huerto Feliz (Caguas) Adicto a la Tierra (Comerío) Finca La Jungla (Orocovis) Nueva Cosecha (Lajas) Asoc. de Pescadores de la Villa del Ojo (Aguadilla) Agronat Finca Agroecológica (San Lorenzo) Finca El Vapor (San Lorenzo) Asoc. de Pescadores Raúl Maldonado (Salinas) Finca Vilella (Lares)
Proyecto Vereda (Cabo Rojo) Jardín Pedro Flores (Naguabo) Huerto Callejón Trujillo (Ponce)
2024+ We will continue to strengthen our support to the Fund's current projects and look to support three new projects from a food production landscape resilience perspective.
Fostering + Accompaniment From our Fostering+Accompaniment area we seek to support organizations, groups and communities in the facilitation of participatory design processes and community project management. With the launch of La Cartuchera, we hope to put the participatory design tools developed alongside collaborating community organizations over ten years in the hands of other communities. These tools will be the basis of our Community Project Management Certification.
La Cartuchera Participatory Design Tools
5
Community work areas
23
Participatory design tools
About the Certification... The Certification in Community Project Management seeks to prepare organizations, groups and communities in the insertion of community participatory processes. The program consists of 28 hours of accompaniment over 7 sessions. Participants are expected to use La Catuchera to design and facilitate processes and/or workshops that complement the work in their organizations or communities. Each participant will receive a printed Cartuchera along with their materials. 1: Introduction to La Cartuchera (4 hours) 2: Narrative Justice (4 hours) 3: Community Mapping (4 hours) 4: Imagination Workshops (4 hours) 5: Communioty Processes (4 hours) 6: Collaborative Project (4 hours) 7: Closing Activities (4 hours) Each session will address a different community work area both theoretically and practically. The aim is to dream, imagine and implement tools in preparation for a final activity. At the end of the program, each participant will receive a certificate.
Mapping Against Forced Displacemen in Río Piedras, a workshop held in collaboration with Colectiva Feminista en Construcción. Thursday, October 5 2023
Communications Through our Communications area we seek to: [1] ensure La Maraña's communications reflect our commitment to narrative justice, [2] elevate conversations on key topics and inspire collective action through the development of campaigns, guides and accessible infographics, and [3] keep collaborators, volunteers, communities and/or organizations interested up to date on our work. This year, we are excited to celebrate the premiere of our first feature length documentary, Desde Adentro. We are also excited to announce the launch of several publications, including one celebrating ten years of La Maraña, as well as a series of accessible guides on topics of sustainable development. Dont’t forget to follow us on social media!
www.lamarana.org
Desde Adentro (Documentary) Desde Adentro tells the story of three young community leaders and the social impact projects they are driving in their communities in Puerto Rico. From the perspective of an astronomer, we embark on a journey that proposes the study of the universe and the stars as a useful allegory to examine the past, better understand the present and design a brighter future for all Puerto Ricans.
Infographics This year we began the publication of a series of infographics with the aim of putting information public yet often inaccessible information in the hands of regular citizens. The series began with “State of the beaches in Puerto Rico: Study carried out by the Institute of Coastal Research and Planning of Puerto Rico”, directed by Martiza Barreto.
#NoHayCrashBoatSinPescadores More than six years after Hurricane Maria, the fishermen of Crash Boat Beach continue to operate without proper fishing failities, putting more than a hundred years of fishing culture –and their livelyhoods– at risk. #NoHayCrashBoatSinPescadores seeks to amplify this cause at a national level. The campaign opened in January during the San Sebastián Street Festival with a plenazo in support of the fishermen.
Tren Urbano Extension In March, the Integrated Transportation Authority (ATI) announced an expensive feasibility study to extend the Urban Train to the Convention District, without consulting citizens. In response, we launched an inspection campaign, from which more than a dozen requests for public information have been made. As part of these efforts, in 2024 we will be launching an accessible public transport guide.
Organizational Development As we look to make our operations more sustainable in the long term, our Organizational Development area is key, covering everything related to the project management, programs, fiscal and human resources of La Maraña. This year we have been har at work on our 2024+ Strategic Plan in collaboration with the Graduate School of Planning of the University of Puerto Rico. The plan includes the administration of our Red de Voluntarixs, our volunteer network, which was launched this year and has already activated a dozen volunteers from different fields of design in several of our projects. Additionally, this year we seek to diversify our funding sources by providing professional services to various entities and organizations including AARP and the League of Cities.
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Snapshot 2023+
8
Members on our team
+$2k
Annual investment in capacity-building
+$10k
Annual investment in health services
2024+ Strategic Plan This year we teamed up with the Graduate School of Planning of the University of Puerto Rico, specifically the Plan Development course, for the development of our 2024+ Strategic Plan. During the process, we worked on our Mission+Vision and reevaluated our current projects or programs. Currently, La Maraña is integrating general recommendations –including programmatic areas– for the organization’s development in the short, mid and long term.
La Maraña Retreat 2023 In September our team headed off to Paraíso Las Lunas in Caguas –a natural area protected by Para La Naturaleza– to celebrate our annual retreat. During the weekend, we held a series of team building dynamics and assertive communication workshops, continued to shape our Mission+Vision and outlined long-term personal and organizational objectives.
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Imagination Workshop with the kids at Piñones Aprende y Emprende (P.A.Y.E.) to design of their reading playground.
Participatory design for the right to remain in Puerto Rico...
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