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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">The Grassroots Movement That Built Puerto Rico’s First Community-Owned Microgrid</h1><div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits"><div class="gmail-forefront-meta gmail-group">
<p><span class="gmail-forefront-meta-label">Story by</span>
<span class="gmail-forefront-meta-name"><a href="https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/author/katherine-rapin"><span>Katherine Rapin</span></a><span> - </span></span><span class="gmail-forefront-meta-label">Published on</span> <span>Jun 10, 2023</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">For
two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Lucy’s
Pizza was the only restaurant open in the central mountain town of
Adjuntas. The town’s 18,000 residents, like those on the rest of the
island, were entirely without electricity. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“No
one has power, you can’t get gas, it’s difficult to make food, so
everyone came here to eat,” says owner Gustavo Irizarry. “The line,” he
gestured down the block along the town’s central plaza, “endless.”</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Using
a diesel generator, Lucy’s was running at about 75% capacity. The
generator was loud, emitted dangerous fumes and wasn’t always reliable.
Irizarry was often up in the middle of the night to restart the
generator because of the risk of losing power to the refrigerators. He
didn’t want ingredients to spoil.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Now,
nearly six years later, Irizarry is poised to generate his own energy
from the sun. He’s one of 14 merchants in downtown Adjuntas who invested
in the island’s first community-owned solar microgrids — expected to go
live before the height of hurricane season this summer. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“After
Maria, we saw the vulnerability and the necessity to have an electric
system that truly works,” Irizarry says. “To have better, alternative
power, to be able to live.”</span></p>
<p>The microgrid project is the latest effort in a two decades-long
grassroots movement to build energy security in Puerto Rico in the form
of solar power.</p>
</div></div><div>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Irizarry
had spent $15,000 on diesel in the six months he was without power
after Maria. When the grid finally came back on, the cost of energy kept
rising — electric bills were sucking up 30% of Lucy’s operating
expenses. Meanwhile, a longstanding energy independence initiative was
paying dividends while providing reliable power in his own backyard.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">A
few blocks from the pizza shop, dozens of Adjunteños gathered at
another community refuge — this one powered by renewable energy.
Environmental nonprofit </span><a href="https://casapueblo.org/" target="_blank">Casa Pueblo</a>
installed their first solar panels in 1999 and retrofitted the system
to be completely off-grid just months before the hurricane. Locals came
to charge phones, run dialysis machines, and store medications in the
center’s refrigerators. One neighbor came daily to administer her son’s
asthma treatment. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Founded in 1980, Casa Pueblo is well known across the island and among the diaspora, who were sending aid, trying, in part, </span><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/when-the-government-fails-after-natural-disasters-this-is-who-picks-up-the-cost-a921e92814ff/" target="_blank">to make up for the inadequate federal response</a>
after the hurricane. Across the island, groups like the Casa Pueblo
have relied on deep roots in the community to create local buy-in and
lead an equitable transition to energy security.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“We told people, we don’t want money — send us solar lamps,” says Arturo Massol Deyá, who along with </span><a href="https://www.goldmanprize.org/blog/prize-winners-today-how-alexis-massol-is-creating-a-community-based-environmental-revolution-in-puerto-rico/" target="_blank">his father</a>
leads Casa Pueblo’s efforts in Adjuntas. For practical reasons, yes,
and because he saw an opportunity to educate the community about solar
energy. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">And it worked. Locals started looking to Casa Pueblo for solutions, including business owners like Irizarry.</span></p>
<h3 dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">A community-owned solution</span></h3>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Spread
across the roofs of seven buildings in town, the island’s first
community-owned solar microgrid will be able to power businesses that
provide essential services for the community: a pharmacy, a hardware
store, a bakery and Irizarry’s pizza shop, among others.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The
microgrids – comprising two half-megawatt battery storage systems
connected to 700 solar panels – will be connected to the central grid.
In the case of an outage, they can </span><a href="https://www.energy.gov/femp/articles/islanding-microgrid" target="_blank">“island,”</a> relying on their own generation and storage.</p>
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<img src="https://nextcity.org/images/made/Lucy%E2%80%99s_Pizza_Puerto_Rico_920_689_80.jpg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="422" height="316">
<p><font size="1">As a co-owner of the new solar microgrid, Lucy’s Pizza owner Gustavo
Irizarry expects to save enough money on energy bills annually to hire
two additional employees. (Photo by Katherine Rapin)</font></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The
systems will enable businesses to be energy oases during prolonged
outages and pay — to the nonprofit the owners formed — a lower rate for
energy year-round. Proceeds will be invested in solar projects for the
community, starting with the homes of the most vulnerable residents.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The aim: building resilience in the face of increasing climate impacts, while generating wealth across Adjuntas. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The $2 million project was led by </span><a href="https://casapueblo.org/" target="_blank">Casa Pueblo</a> in partnership with the solar-energy focused <a href="https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Honnold Foundation</a> and local business owners, and with the support of University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, among others. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">It’s the latest effort in Casa Pueblo’s “</span><a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/02/09/puerto-rico-energy-electricity-solar-natural-gas/" target="_blank">Energy Insurrection</a>,” a movement to become an entirely solar-powered town and model energy resilience for communities across Puerto Rico. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“The
microgrid is a major step in taking Puerto Rico from the vulnerability
of the centralized fossil fuel system to the aspiration that I think we
share in Puerto Rico,” says Arturo Massol Deyá. “To use local fuels and
generate power at the point of consumption, where it’s needed.”</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">As
storm-induced outages become more frequent, local generation and
storage have become more critical, and not only on islands. The United
States’ </span><a href="https://doe.icfwebservices.com/microgrid" target="_blank">700 microgrids</a>,
more than half of which were built since 2015, already provide reliable
power for places like hospitals, schools and airports. By 2035, the
Department of Energy <a href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/4-Microgrids%20as%20a%20Building%20Block%20for%20Future%20Grids.pdf" target="_blank">expects</a>
microgrids will be “essential building blocks of the future electricity
delivery system to support resilience, decarbonization, and
affordability.” </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">With
350 residential and essential service buildings already running on
solar and the town center set to be powered by two microgrids, Adjuntas
has become a model for how a community can transition to solar power.
Members of Congress like </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=701571573517345" target="_blank">Nancy Pelosi</a> and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have <a href="https://www.elnuevodia.com/corresponsalias/washington-dc/notas/congresistas-se-solidarizan-con-el-proyecto-adjuntas-pueblo-solar-en-la-vispera-de-la-marcha-del-sol/" target="_blank">endorsed</a>
the solar movement in Adjuntas; in March, Secretary of Energy Jennifer
Granholm met with leaders at Casa Pueblo to discuss strategies for
Puerto Rico to <a href="https://www.energy.gov/gdo/puerto-rico-grid-resilience-and-transitions-100-renewable-energy-study-pr100" target="_blank">completely transition</a> to renewable energy by 2050. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“They’re leading by example, showing that 100% solar power is possible for Puerto Rico,” Granholm </span><a href="https://twitter.com/SecGranholm/status/1641121552262463488" target="_blank">commented</a> after her visit. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Leaders
attribute their success to an approach that starts with bolstering
solar education and access, relies on deep knowledge of the specific
local needs, and builds wealth and resilience through community
ownership of clean energy generation. </span></p>
<h3>Born out of necessity</h3>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Despite
$12 billion of federal funding allocated for rebuilding energy
infrastructure since Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s central grid is
still in disrepair. </span></p>
<div>
<img src="https://nextcity.org/images/made/solar_power_workers_puerto_rico_600_800_80.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="317" height="422">
<p><font size="1">Puerto Rico-based Máximo Solar hired local women to help install the
700 solar panels that power the microgrid. (Photo courtesy of Casa
Pueblo)</font></p>
</div>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Outages after </span><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/top_story/puerto-rico-hammered-by-fiona-entire-grid-down/" target="_blank">Fiona</a> in 2022 exposed the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/c/features/23404252/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-electric-grid-solar-panels-prepa-luma-fema" target="_blank">persistent vulnerabilities</a>
of a system that’s reliant on imported fossil fuels, 32,000 miles of
distribution lines and a public utility that’s $9 billion in debt. Since
private American-Canadian company LUMA took over the island’s
transmission and distribution in 2021, rates have increased more than
seven times and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/07/puerto-rico-plunged-into-darkness-after-power-station-fire.html" target="_blank">blackouts have continued</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Puerto Ricans experience the consequences on a </span><a href="https://poweroutage.us/area/state/puerto%20rico" target="_blank">daily or weekly basis</a>, while spending <a href="https://ieefa.org/resources/latest-puerto-rico-plan-electric-grid-step-wrong-direction" target="_blank">8% of their income</a> ($21,967, on average) on electricity, compared to 2.4% on the U.S mainland. To keep cool during increasingly frequent <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-faces-dangerous-situation-record-breaking-heat-rcna88168" target="_blank">heat waves</a>, islanders are using more energy —<a href="https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/notas/el-calor-extremo-sacude-la-capacidad-del-sistema-electrico-de-puerto-rico/" target="_blank"> causing blackouts</a> amid exceedingly dangerous temperatures. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Hundreds of renewable energy advocates, many represented by the movement </span><a href="https://www.queremossolpr.com/" target="_blank">Queremos Sol</a> (We Want Sun), say the solution is obvious. Rooftop solar alone could potentially provide <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/78756.pdf" target="_blank">four times</a> the island’s residential energy demand, Department of Energy studies have shown. </p>
<p><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Despite </span><a href="https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/leyesreferencia/PDF/2-ingles/17-2019.pdf" target="_blank">efforts</a>
to transition to renewables and the local government’s goal of sourcing
100% renewable energy percent by 2050, the island currently sources
less than 4% from renewables.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The utility Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has instead advanced </span><a href="https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2022/09/new-fortress-breaches-contract-on-gas-supply-puerto-ricos-government-allows-it/" target="_blank">natural gas projects</a> without federal regulatory approval and even proposed <a href="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/03/23/puerto-rico-solar-tax-has-been-defeated/" target="_blank">a fee</a> on energy generated by rooftop solar to help restructure their debt. In April, a group of environmental non-profits <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/fema-sued-rebuilding-puerto-ricos-power-grid-focusing-renewables-rcna79394" target="_blank">sued FEMA</a>, <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/pdfs/FEMA-Puerto-Rico-Complaint-04112023.pdf" target="_blank">claiming</a>
that the federal agency’s plans to rebuild the grid “fail to
meaningfully consider relying on distributed renewable energy systems.” </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The </span><a href="https://grist.org/article/puerto-rico-energy-resilience-fund/" target="_blank">Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund’s</a>
$1 billion, approved by Congress last year and managed by the U.S. DOE,
isn’t expected to be allocated until the end of 2023. In the meantime,
the DOE team is collecting input from community leaders like those at
Casa Pueblo, who have been on the ground developing their own solutions
for the past six years. </p>
<h3 dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">La Insurrección Energética </span></h3>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Since distributing 14,000 solar lamps after Maria, Casa Pueblo has built a </span><a href="https://www.elnuevodia.com/ciencia-ambiente/otros/notas/adjuntas-tendra-su-bosque-solar-construido-por-casa-pueblo/" target="_blank">public solar park</a> and installed more than 350 solar systems on homes and essential service buildings.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Homes
with solar are saving an average of $40 per month on energy bills, Casa
Pueblo estimates, and were able to maintain power when Fiona hit last
fall. </span></p>
<p>These ongoing projects have given locals the opportunity to see the
benefits of solar energy firsthand and garnered support for the
microgrid, which has been four years in the making. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">In
2019, leaders at Casa Pueblo were considering the potential impacts of
solarizing businesses in downtown Adjuntas — providing energy security
in the heart of the community while disrupting the fossil fuel industry
by unplugging those with the highest energy demands, as Massol Deyá saw
it. Meanwhile, business owners like Izairry were looking for
alternatives. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">But
as the microgrid idea was taking shape, Casa Pueblo’s late co-founder
Tinti Deyá Diaz wasn’t totally on board; she wanted to ensure
lower-income residents would continue to benefit from the solar
transition. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Her
concern led the 14 businesses owners who will receive power from the
microgrid to form the nonprofit Asociación Comunitaria Energia Solar
Adjuntas (Community Solar Energy Association of Adjuntas, or ACESA),
essentially operating as an independent utility. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">They’ll
pay 25 cents per kWh to themselves, about 10 cents cheaper than what
they’d pay the utility. After covering maintenance and operation costs,
proceeds will be reinvested in community solar projects, prioritizing
homes of the most vulnerable Adjunteños.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">It’s
a model many communities on the island are interested in replicating.
Last October, Casa Pueblo organized a community meeting to bring
together about 30 groups working on solar projects on the island.
Attendees included folks working on a </span><a href="https://www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/maricao-solar-microgrid-project-gets-underway" target="_blank">microgrid project</a>
in Maricao, a mountain town of about 5,000. They’re also aiming to
solarize local businesses, including the town’s only bank, which doesn’t
have a backup generator.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">It
hasn’t been easy to get some business owners to commit to a 20-year
project (the approximate life of the panels and batteries), says Andrew
Hermann, director of </span><a href="https://www.monteazulfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Monte Azul Foundation</a>, which is spearheading the Maricao project. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">When
residents of the mountain town visited Casa Pueblo, “seeing [the
microgrid] in person and talking to business owners that are super
pro-microgrid — it’s really assuring the business owners here,” Hermann
says. “That’s the type of energy that helps build these projects from
the ground up.” </span></p>
<div>
<img src="https://nextcity.org/images/made/Microgrids_test_beds_920_736_80.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img">
<p>At the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
researchers are developing architecture and algorithms to make the
Adjuntas microgrids more reliable and resilient. (Photo by Carlos Jones /
U.S. Dept. of Energy / ORNL)</p>
</div>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Adjuntas
is also the site of microgrid resilience research by scientists at
DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in collaboration with University of
Puerto Rico Mayaguez and other U.S. Universities. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“What
happens if you lose 30-40% of the [power] generation in one solar array
due to a hurricane?” says Maximiliano Ferrari, an engineer at the Oak
Ridge lab and among the leaders of the research team. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The
team is working to develop a technology to connect the two microgrids —
which they call a “microgrid orchestrator” — enabling them to share
energy if one is compromised. Referred to as networking or clustering,
this </span><a href="https://www.microgridknowledge.com/distributed-energy/article/11427478/here-comes-the-future-bronzeville-microgrid-cluster-set-to-begin-operating-this-year" target="_blank">nascent technology</a> is expected by many in the industry to be an important component of future microgrids. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">Ferrari
says the project in Adjuntas is a perfect — and rare — testing site,
because the microgrids are so close together. The team plans to start
testing the microgrid orchestrator this summer. At the end of the
project, all the developments will be open sourced, says Ferrari. </span></p>
<h3 dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“Solar energy, for an even better country!”</span></h3>
<p dir="ltr">The project still faces the challenge of connecting to the
central grid. Only time will tell how the goals of ACESA will play out
in reality. Massol Deyá acknowledges mistakes along the way — for one,
the project was costlier than it could have been. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“But
it’s the first time; you have to do it to have that experience, and use
that to help others,” says Massol Deyá. “We share what we have done —
the challenges, the limitations, the complications.”</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">The developments in Adjuntas have already been put to the test with Hurricane Fiona. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">A Category 1 storm when it hit in the fall of 2022, just days after the five-year anniversary of Maria, Fiona caused </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/us/hurricane-fiona-puerto-rico-blackouts.html#:~:text=That%20storm%20inflicted%20more%20damage,until%20nearly%20a%20year%20later." target="_blank">prolonged outages</a>
across the island. But in Adjuntas, the solar-powered fire station was
able to respond to local needs and even intercept calls from the station
in Ponce, 15 miles south, which had lost power. Casa Pueblo’s solar
radio broadcast was uninterrupted; remote workers gathered at the solar
park to plug in; many residents with medical conditions were able to
continue treatments thanks to the panels on their roofs. </p>
<p>Hours after the storm, one family posted on Casa Pueblo’s social
media thanking them for the solar system that allowed their daughter to
continue her dialysis during and after the storm.</p>
<div>
<img src="https://nextcity.org/images/made/Marcha_del_Sol_920_690_80.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img">
<p>In March 2023, thousands lined the streets of Adjuntas for Casa
Pueblo’s second annual rally for solar energy. (Photo by Katherine
Rapin) </p>
</div>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">In
March, thousands lined the streets of Adjuntas for Casa Pueblo’s Marcha
del Sol to show support for solar energy and celebrate the completion
of the microgrid. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“Energía so-lar — pa’ un mejor país!” they shouted. </span>Solar energy, for a better country!</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-21599068-7fff-9dd5-8dcd-45be68ceab16">“When
you see the entire landscape, you know that we are still at risk — we
are going to be confronting the same climate change challenges,
hurricanes, earthquakes,” says Massol Deyá. “But I can say, and it was </span><a href="https://time.com/6215138/solar-power-puerto-rico-hurricane-fiona/" target="_blank">tested with Fiona</a>, that Adjuntas is in a better position to confront these realities.”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-94c2b586-7fff-e37d-e9a1-7f549ea07220">This article is co-published with </span><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" target="_blank">Nexus Media News</a> and made possible by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.</em></p>
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