Our Story
Science + Community = Resilience
FEWtures is a science and community initiative documenting how energy, water, and food affect everyday life in Puerto Rico, and connecting evidence with practical action alongside communities and partner organizations.
01 — Context
Infrastructure is a lived experience
In Puerto Rico, ensuring safe, reliable access to water, food, and energy is a persistent challenge that intensified after Hurricane María (2017). The collapse of infrastructure revealed the fragility of these systems and their effects on health and wellbeing: weeks or months without electricity, difficulty preserving food and obtaining drinking water, and interruptions to essential medical treatments.
The crisis went beyond technical failures. It also exposed human and social dimensions: anxiety about uncertainty, daily improvisation to cook or store water, and unequal capacity to respond depending on location and living conditions.
At FEWtures, we address these challenges beyond their technical dimensions. We start with the lived experiences of households and communities, combining participatory methods with interdisciplinary analysis to propose culturally relevant, resilient interventions. Alongside infrastructure improvements, we recognize local knowledge, strengthen support networks, and respond to the diversity of the archipelago. This helps us advance more just, sustainable, people-centered solutions.
Consequences in everyday life
02 — The name
Why FEWtures?
Our name combines Food, Energy, and Water—the three interconnected resources at the heart of household security—with the futures we imagine and build alongside communities. Because food, energy, and water insecurity affects community health and disaster recovery, our work spans all four dimensions.
02 — The name
03 — Mission
We bring science and community leadership together to turn evidence into decisions and practical solutions for water, food, energy, community health, and disaster response. FEWtures began in Puerto Rico and now works with communities in Puerto Rico and the United States as a science communication platform and a space connecting multiple projects—including research initiatives, bulletins, infographics, community newspapers, events, and resources to share. It serves as a living record and a platform for collaboration, documenting experiences, sharing accessible information, and supporting collective action.
02 — The name
04 — Vision
We envision more just and prepared communities—in Puerto Rico and beyond—where scientific evidence and community experiences carry equal weight and guide decisions that improve access to water, food, and energy, strengthen community health, and build disaster resilience, with communities at the center.