Isla Urbana

Isla Urbana is formed by an interdisciplinary group of designers, urbanists, engineers, anthropologists, educators, and artists dedicated to demonstrating how rainwater harvesting is a viable solution for Mexico’s water crisis.

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Isla Urbana

Isla Urbana has designed an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable rainwater harvesting system that collects and cleans rainwater for households, schools, and health clinics.

The system is inexpensive, easy to install, and provides individual residences with about 40% of their annual water supply. If implemented on a large scale throughout Mexico City, this simple technology could provide 30% of the city’s water and help give a sustainable water source to the 12 million Mexicans who lack access to clean water.

Our rainwater harvesting systems promote sustainable water management practices, mitigate the city’s flooding problems, relieve poverty, reduce carbon emissions, and provide a reliable source of water for Mexico City’s residents, and throughout the country.

As half of Earth’s population now lives in cities, creating sustainable urban systems has the greatest impact on environmental and social issues. To ensure a future with access to clean water—the most vital resource on the planet—innovative water saving technologies must be enacted on a large scale starting today.

Isla Urbana Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Non Profit Organization in the United States and Lluvia Para Todos is the main partner in Mexico, which is run by the same team with the common mission to provide clean water for Mexico through the sustainable technology of rainwater harvesting.

Members

Co-founders

Carlos Moscoso

Co-founder
(1964 – 2009)

Carlos Moscoso, our beloved friend, was one of the original founders of Isla Urbana. He was older than most of us but his inner calm, experience, and enormous generosity remain an inspiration to us all today. He taught us about plumbing and a thousand other things relating to life and work. Isla Urbana would not be where it is now, were it not for him. We miss you Carlos.

Jennifer White

General Director

David Vargas

President

Carmen Hernández

Administrative Director

Renata Fenton

Director of Isla Urbana USA

Hiram García

Engineering Director

Enrique Lomnitz

Co-founder

Gabino Hernández

Director of Installation

Javier Hernández

Director of Installation

Alejandro Hernández

Director of Installation

Managers

Priscilla Azamar

Sales Director

Mariana Balderas

Research and Development
Director

Óscar Gómez

Graphic Design Director

Delfín Montañana

Social Environmental
Education Director

Ana Paula Mejorada

Rain Schools Director

Jesús Sotomayor

Director of Lluvia
para Todos A.C.

Martín Liedo

Impact Assessment
Coordinator

Emilio Becerril

Managing Director

Nabani Vera

Communications Director

Operations Team

Barritt Reynolds

Events and Communications Associate IU USA

Christopher Isele

Bookkeeping IU USA

Petra Flores

Administrator

Aliyeri Díaz

Distributor Coordinator

Dante Sosa

Community Relations

Alejandro Alcántara

Mapping and Community
Relations

Daniel Nava

Community Relations

Iván de Jesús Cortés

Rain Schools Programmer and Database Management

Teresa Lobo

Ha Ta Tukari Education Coordinator and Program Manager

Carlos Torres

Accountant

Ignacio Muñoz

Rain Schools Technical Visitor

Javier Melchor Orozco

Rain Schools Educational Coordinator

Aline Morales Pérez

Community Manager

Shiara González

Ha Ta Tukari Coordinator

Gerardo Vanegas

Technical Advisor for Residential Systems

Astrid Domínguez

Audiovisual Production

Dunai Frank

Workshop Leader

Karen Aguilar

Graphic Designer

Fernando Alcántara

Storekeeper

Lucía Fosado

Administrator

Luis Martínez

Customer Service Coordinator

Ricardo Muñoz Sánchez

Sales Consultant

César López

Ha Ta Tukari Installation Technician

Claudia Ríos

Ha Ta Tukari Education Co-Coordinator

Guadalupe Roldán

Rain Schools Coordinator

Marita Rodríguez

Database Management

Denébola Caraveo

Rain Schools Technical Visitor

Alejandra Parra

Ha Ta Tukari Education Technician

Azucena Parra

Ha Ta Tukari Education Technician

Javier Arévalo

Accountant

Sergio Medrano

Workshop Leader

Simón Sánchez Ortega

Communication Coordinator

Gabriela Cedillo

Project Manager

Liliana López

Content Development Coordinator, Rain Schools

Felipe López

Ha Ta Tukari Installation Technician

Joel De la Cruz

Ha Ta Tukari Education Technician

Mariano Bautista

Ha Ta Tukari Installation Technician

Lucio Guerrero

Calabashero Technician of Sierra Tarahumara

Maribel Gallardo

Operational Coordinator of Nándá Jtsi

Joel Bautista

Ha Ta Tukari Technician

Paola Rodríguez

Rain Schools Educational Facilitator

Rocío Robles Cruz

Rain Schools Educational Facilitator

Patricio Orden

Data Analyst

René Ponce

Project Coordinator

Maribel Martínez

Nándá Jtsi Technician

Nidia García

Research and Development

Adriana González

Nándá Jtsi Program Manager

Óscar Gaxiola

Project Coordinator

José Torcal

Project Volunteer in San Juan Tlacotenco

Daan Elsen

Developer

Paulino Díaz

Ha Ta Tukari Technician

Cecilia Guerrero

Sierra Tarahumara Technician

Egidio Zamora

Nándá Jtsi Technician

Martín Guerrero

Calabashero Technician of Sierra Tarahumara

Alejandro Moyers

Rain Schools Educational Facilitator

Andrea Gutiérrez

Rain Schools Educational Facilitator

Adriana López

Responsible for Water Quality Testing and Monitoring

Recognition

RISD Serves Award 2021
RISD Alumni Awards 2021, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), USA, 2021.

Honourable Mention Lighthouse Awards 2021
Brave Blue World Foundation, Vancouver, Canada, 2021.

Finalist Premio al Liderazgo Social (Social Leadership Award)
Kybernus, Mexico City, 2021.

Water Challenge

First Place, Chile, 2020.

Iberoamerican Youth Awards
Prize for the category “Knowledge Without Borders: strategies for the production, diffusion, and application of knowledge that actively involves and impacts vulnerable or excluded communities or groups.” Dominican Republic, 2019.

National Award for Technological Innovation for Social Inclusion
First Place– a project that demonstrates an outstanding positive outcome by using technology for poverty reduction and to influence social wellbeing, 2018.

World Design Capital Award
Socially Responsible Design recognition, Mexico City, 2018.

Mexico City Award
Environmental Action Award, Mexico City, 2017.

Social Design Circle Member
Social Design Circle Member by Design Prize, 2017.

VIVA Premios Schmidheiny

Third Place in Social Innovation, Costa Rica, 2016.

Entrepreneurial Merit Award
IMMPCIn recognition to young entrepreneurs, Guadalajara, Mexico, 2015.

Visionaris Prize UBS
For innovation in social enterprise, Mexico City, Mexico, 2015.

Ashoka Fellowship
Changemakers, 2012-2015.

Momentum Project-BBVA Bancomer
PrizeFor innovation and the massification of social enterprise, 2014.

Mentes QUO-Discovery Recognition

For dedication to positive change in Mexico, 2013.

MTech35 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tech Review Recognition
35 innovators under age 35 worldwide, Boston, Massachusetts, 2013.

Civic, Environmental and Social Work Merit Prize
INJUVE, 2013.

Clinton Global Initiative
Member by invitation, 2012.

Nomination “INDEX Award”
Denmark, 2011.

Rompe con el cambio climático (Breakaway from climate change) Prize
SEMARNAT, Mexico, 2011.

Finalist El agua, fuente de vida (Water, source of life) Prize
For best practices in water management, United Nations, ONU-Agua, Spain, 2011.

Finalist Iniciativa México (Mexico Initiative)

One of 25 finalists of 56, 958 initiatives, Mexico, 2011.

Genera (Generate) Prize
Project, Transforming Mexico through ideas, Mexico, 2010.

Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award Honorable Mention

México, 2010.

Finalist BBC World Challenge
One of 10 Finalists, among 800 projects from all over the world, England, 2010.