Generations of Change: How Engineering is Sustaining Life and Legacy in Las Marías, Puerto Rico

In the lush hills of Las Marías, Puerto Rico—a place rich with tradition, rain-soaked soil, and resilient communities—two parallel projects are redefining what infrastructure can mean for generations to come. Through the Community Engineering Corps (CECorps) program at EWB-USA, volunteers are working alongside community leaders to ensure that clean water, sustainable agriculture, and economic opportunity are not just short-term solutions, but lasting legacies.

Panorama Farm: Where Agriculture Meets Impact

Panorama Farm is more than a farm—it's a living classroom, a cultural hub, and a funding engine for community-led progress. Operated by the nonprofit Friends of Puerto Rico, the farm grows native crops like papaya and coffee, and supports local entrepreneurship through its Café Ama Love social enterprise.

But the farm faces a persistent challenge in this tropical landscape: intense and frequent rainfall that causes damaging water runoff. Flooding not only threatens crops but also jeopardizes the income that funds education and women’s empowerment programs across the island.

That’s where our volunteer team stepped in. In a unique collaboration between the University of Central Florida EWB-USA student chapter and experienced engineering professionals, the team is working with Panorama Farm to develop a stormwater management system that turns a challenge into an opportunity. By creating designs that aim to capture and recycle water, the project will help mitigate erosion while making every drop count toward future harvests.

The ripple effects go far beyond the farm. Income from Panorama supports:

• SEEDS, a youth entrepreneurship program that has helped over 250 students launch 76 small businesses
  
  
• A Women’s Business Center that has served more than 1,000 clients with resources and mentorship
  
  
• Sustainable agrotourism and education programs that connect generations through agriculture and cultural exchange
  
  

In short: when the land thrives, so does the community—and its future.

Providing Safe Drinking Water to Families in Las Marías

Just a few miles from Panorama Farm, in another neighborhood of Las Marías, a second project is underway to protect the most essential human need: access to clean, safe drinking water. This rural housing community, home to 40 multi-family units—primarily women-run households—experiences regular disruptions in water access, especially during storms or power outages. The infrastructure, now decades old, is no longer reliable.

An EWB-USA team made up of volunteers from our partner GEI Consultants is working to support the efforts to design a potable water cistern system for this building, which is owned by Volunteers of American Networks (VOANs). The system will store a minimum three-day reserve of clean water for use during outages, and will meet drinking water standards to protect public health.

For the families who live here—many of whom fall well below the area median income—the cistern represents more than convenience. It’s stability during crisis. It’s peace of mind. It’s a tangible improvement in daily life. Once implemented, the system will be maintained by VOANS, helping to ensure that clean, accessible water is available for current and future residents.

Why This Matters: Engineering for Generations

Both of these projects reflect what makes EWB-USA’s approach unique: community-led engineering that respects local knowledge, builds capacity, and creates solutions that endure.

In Las Marías, infrastructure is not just concrete or piping—it’s the foundation of education, health, and generational opportunity.

It’s a place where:

• A teenage girl attending a SEEDS workshop learns how to launch a business while watching engineers help her family's farm thrive.
  
  
• A single mother, once worried about losing water during the next storm, can now fill a cup without fear.
  
  
• A new generation sees engineers not as outsiders, but as partners in their story.
  
  

You Can Help Build the Future

When you give to EWB-USA, you’re not just funding a project—you’re investing in generations of change. You’re supporting students, single mothers, elders, and entrepreneurs who are building resilient communities with pride and purpose.

Let’s build a future where clean water flows freely, farms flourish sustainably, and every child grows up with the infrastructure they need to thrive.

Donate today. Because when we engineer with communities engineer for life.