The Island Resilience Project: Cultural Heritage and Community Empowerment in Islote, Puerto Rico

FAIN: PN-295836-24

University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo Campus (Arecibo, PR 00613-1806)
Hilda Vila (Project Director: May 2023 to present)

The collection of 10 oral histories as well as other documentation about the cultural heritage of Islote, Puerto Rico, a small and historical fishing village on the north coast endangered by climate change.

The Island Resilience Project is a collaboration between the Social Research Observatory of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo and the Luciérnagas Foundation in the Islote community. Our project aims to enhance the cultural and community resilience of Islote Puerto Rico against the impacts of climate change from a decolonial perspective. We will achieve this goal through the collaborative documentation, preservation, and promotion of the unique cultural and natural heritage of the area while empowering community members. To work with the Islote school and community in gathering and disseminating geographical, oral, and historical information about the origins of their community, the natural resources surrounding it, and the strategies developed to survive by their elders.