The Challenge

In the Wixárika territory of San Andrés Cohamiata—one of Mexico’s most isolated regions—families survive on just 10–15 litres of water per day. Women and girls walk hours to haul unsafe water from shrinking springs.
Climate change, drought, and forest degradation have pushed this indigenous community to breaking point.
When Isla Urbana approached us in 2024, the task was clear but daunting: design and secure an $8 million climate adaptation proposal that could transform water access across an entire territory—while honouring the 15 years of deep work that the Ha Ta Tukari team have done with the Wixárika people and meeting the rigorous standards of international climate finance.

Services: Strategy, Facilitation, Fundraising, Program Design
Sectors: Water, Climate, Social Cohesion
2024 – Present

Our Approach

We brought systems thinking to every layer of this work. Over months of collaboration with Isla Urbana, government institutions like Mexico’s Water Technology Institute (IMTA), and community partners, we wove together innovative technical design, political coordination, and deep cultural understanding.
We didn’t just write a proposal—we co-designed a vision. One that connected rainwater harvesting with forest regeneration, gender equity with local employment, and indigenous knowledge with climate science. We navigated institutional politics, aligned diverse stakeholders, and translated 15 years of grassroots work into a framework that
international funders could recognize and trust.
Our role continues beyond submission, we are currently supporting the programme’s pre-launch phase with strategic coordination and systems integration.

The Impact

Mexico’s first-ever Adaptation Fund grant: USD $8 million.

The approved programme will deliver:

1,000 rainwater harvesting systems providing clean water to

5,100 people.

20–22 million litres of water captured annually

800+ hectares of forest regenerated for climate resilience

44 local jobs created, prioritising Wixárika women

720,000+ hours saved annually from water hauling—half a

million by women alone

A replicable model for indigenous water sovereignty under

climate change

What We Learned

Water is never just water—it’s health, gender equity, economic possibility, and dignity.

Climate adaptation works when it honours both technical excellence and cultural truth

This is the most beautiful example of community engagement and collaboration I have ever seen – Ha Ta Tukari is owned and implemented by the Wixarika community. Deep partnership takes time, but it creates programmes communities actually own. And when local teams are resourced and trained properly, they become the engine of lasting change.

Even the most brilliant design needs institutional champions to scale and that collaboration can be the most challenging part of this kind of programme Patience, patience, patience

This is part of a wider collaboration with the amazing Isla Urbana who we have also partnered with on other initiatives.

Client Quote:

“They helped us see a much bigger, sexier, more exciting

brand than we could have come up with on our own.”

— Echo Collins-Egan, former Chief Impact Officer at RE!NSTITUTE