EplerWood International prepared a robust enterprise development strategy for vulnerable populations across Puerto Rico – post-Hurricane Maria. This was in response to a disastrous fall in economic activity island-wide, a crash of the tourism economy , rapid out-migration of workers to the US., and a collapse of the electric grid on the island due to climate change factors – all in 2018. Funded by U.S. Homeland Security and managed by the Rand Corporation & the Boston firm Geoadaptive; the team bravely ventured across the island meeting with local people, mapping the key treasures of nature and culture, and targeting which regions could best achieve resilience through local businesses start-ups and expansions in cooperation with local federal and land trust managers. The project is moving towards greater economic resilience for communities in rural pockets of the country, and has become a vibrant part of the conservation, heritage and sustainable enterprise ecosystem on the island. Most notably, the concepts behind the effort have been successfully implemented by the El Yunque National Forest and neighboring communities to develop a range of community centered businesses to bring greater conservation and sustainable development to the buffer zones of this august and treasured U.S. national tropical forest reserve. Learn more