What Isla Urban does

Isla Urbana is a Mexico-based social enterprise founded in 2009 that designs, installs, and sells rooftop rainwater harvesting systems for households, public schools, indigenous communities, and government clients across Mexico. The organization operates a hybrid structure: the Mexican commercial entity Solución Pluvial S.A. de C.V. runs a social business selling systems to private clients, while Isla Urbana USA, a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in San Diego, channels tax-deductible donations from US donors toward subsidized community installations. Headquartered in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Isla Urbana reports a cumulative installed base of 44,957 systems serving 541,290 beneficiaries and harvesting 6.6 billion liters of rainwater annually across six Mexican states.

The core technology centers on the proprietary Tlaloque first-flush separator, which diverts contaminated runoff from the initial rain so that only clean water enters the storage cistern (minimum 2,500 liters). Each system combines rooftop collection, Tlaloque diversion, filtration, and storage to deliver 5-8 months of household water autonomy (sometimes year-round) in the Mexico City climate. Product lines span Sistemas de Ciudad (urban/peri-urban), Sistemas de Campo (rural), Sistemas Especiales (custom), Escuelas de Lluvia (Rain Schools, 1,602 installed), Manos al Agua (hand-washing modules, 530 installed), La Carpa Azul (cultural programming), and Rainwater Brigades (disaster response). Technology and impact claims have been validated through academic research partnerships with UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2013-2020) and ITAM (2013).

Revenue mechanics combine (i) one-time system sales by the social business to private clients via WhatsApp-led direct sales and a Mexico-wide distributor network, (ii) subsidized community programs where families contribute a small percentage and the remainder is funded by NGO, foundation, and government partners, and (iii) corporate partnerships (Liquid I.V., Grupo Herdez, Patrón's Becky G collaboration funding 200 systems in Jalisco) and 501(c)(3) donations via Isla Urbana USA. Distribution runs across Mexico City, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Jalisco, State of Mexico, and Yucatán, with active expansion into Guadalajara, Guanajuato, and Monterrey.

Name

Isla Urban

Legal name

Solución Pluvial, Sociedad Anónima de Capital Variable (S.A. de C.V.)

Website

https://islaurbana.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Isla Urbana is a Mexico-based social enterprise that designs, installs, and sells rainwater harvesting systems for households, indigenous communities, schools, and government clients across Mexico, combining proprietary Tlaloque first-flush technology with subsidized community programs and a US-based 501(c)(3) donor channel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rainwater Harvesting Systems

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Softener, Filtration & Treatment System Installation (HSAOAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gutters, Downspouts & Rainwater Systems (IMADAFAM)

Keywords

• Rainwater harvesting systems
• Rooftop water collection
• Water access solutions
• Sustainable water management
• Rainwater storage cisterns

Headquarters

HQ city

Coyoacan

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Rainwater Harvesting System Sales (Social Business): Isla Urbana operates a social business unit that designs, installs, and sells autonomous, high-quality rainwater harvesting systems to private clients. Families also purchase systems with a small percentage of costs, with remaining costs subsidized through NGO, foundation, and government partnerships. The privacy policy identifies the commercial entity as Solución Pluvial S.A. de C.V.
2. Charitable Donations via Isla Urbana USA: Isla Urbana USA, a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in San Diego, California, connects donors, partners, and volunteers to impactful rainwater initiatives in Mexico. Donations are used to fund system installations, Rain Schools, and community programs. All gifts are tax-deductible in the US.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Isla Urbana designs, installs, and sells rooftop rainwater harvesting systems in Mexico, centered on its proprietary Tlaloque first-flush separator that diverts contaminated initial rainfall before storage in 2,500+ liter cisterns. The organization operates programs for low-income urban families, rural and indigenous communities, and public schools, while a social business unit (Solución Pluvial S.A. de C.V.) sells residential systems commercially to private clients.

Product overview

Isla Urban operates as a dual-entity organization offering both social impact programs and commercial rainwater harvesting solutions. The core product is the rainwater harvesting system featuring the Tlaloque first-flush diverter technology, which collects and filters rainwater from rooftops into storage cisterns. The Urban Programs serve cities across Mexico including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, and Monterrey, while Rural Systems address off-grid communities. Specialized Indigenous Community Programs (Nandá Jtsí, Ha Ta Tukari, YAXE, Tlamacazapa) provide culturally-adapted solutions for Mazatec, Wixárika, and Nahuatl communities. Educational products include Escuelas de Lluvia (Rain Schools) which install systems and teach water conservation in public schools, and Manos al Agua which provides hand-washing infrastructure with hygiene education. Cultural engagement occurs through La Carpa Azul community outreach program. Disaster resilience is served by Rainwater Brigades. The Social Business division serves private clients seeking residential systems. Since 2009, the organization has installed 44,957 systems benefiting 541,290 people, harvesting 6.6 billion liters annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Carpa Azul: Cultural program promoting sustainable water use through art, workshops, film screenings, theater, and music
• Escuelas de Lluvia (Rain Schools)
• Manos al Agua
• Isla Urbana USA

Products and services

• Rainwater Harvesting Systems (with Tlaloque First-Flush Separator) Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems that collect, treat, and store clean water for household or institutional use, built around the proprietary Tlaloque first-flush separator. Each system includes rooftop collection infrastructure, filtration, and a cistern/tank of minimum 2,500 liters, providing 5–8 months of water independence (sometimes year-round). Sold through direct installation to subsidized families and commercially to private clients via the Solución Pluvial S.A. de C.V. social business.
• Escuelas de Lluvia (Rain Schools) A program that installs rainwater harvesting systems in public schools across Mexico and combines the infrastructure with a comprehensive education and advocacy program on water, hygiene, and healthy habits for students, faculty, and parents. The Escuelas de Lluvia network covers 1,602 schools, often funded by corporate CSR sponsorships and government education programs.
• Manos al Agua Handwashing station installation program for schools in Mexico, providing infrastructure for handwashing along with technical training and educational programming on water, hygiene, and healthy habits. Currently 530 Manos al Agua installations reported as a sub-component of the Rain Schools program.

Quantifiable outcome

• Families achieve 5–8 months of water independence (sometimes year-round) from a single rainwater harvesting system
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Patrón Spirits (Becky G x Patrón Partnership)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 July 2026Becky G partnered with Patrón tequila to launch limited-edition 'Our Rainwater Collection' bottles for National Tequila Day (July 24, 2026). The collection supports Patrón's commitment to funding 200 rainwater-harvesting systems across Jalisco, Mexico, in partnership with Isla Urbana. Products feature blue and green designs representing water conservation. The $60 Patrón Silver bottle (350 pieces) and $42.99 collectible tin both support this initiative.
• Rainwater Brigades PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026The Rainwater Brigades program, revived post-Hurricane Otis in October 2023 in Guerrero, deploys compact, user-friendly rainwater harvesting and purification technologies to disaster-affected communities. Multiple partner organizations support this initiative, including those involved in the 2017 Mexico City earthquake response and subsequent deployments in Acapulco and surrounding areas.
• Liquid I.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Liquid I.V. and Isla Urbana partnered to expand rainwater harvesting infrastructure, education programs, and community-based systems across Mexico, particularly in drought-affected regions like Oaxaca. In 2025, this partnership benefited over 700 people across five municipalities in Oaxaca with a potential rainwater collection capacity of 1.7 million liters per year. Expansion plans include additional Rain Schools and household systems by 2026.
• Grupo HerdezcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Grupo Herdez's Saber Nutrir program works with Isla Urbana to install rainwater harvesting cisterns across Mexico. In a recent period, the partnership installed 33 new projects including four cisterns, bringing the total to 289 cisterns across the State of Mexico, Yucatán, and Jalisco. Both organizations contribute to expanding rainwater infrastructure as a response to severe water scarcity.
• Oxfam MéxicominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Oxfam México provided support for the development of the 'Historias de agua' (Water Stories) series — educational content about water in the Mexico City Valley. Isla Urbana and Oxfam share a common vision where equitable water access and inequality reduction through rainwater harvesting is possible.
• UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Isla Urbana has extensive research collaborations with UNAM, including studies on rainwater quality from the Tlaloque system, performance evaluation of RWH systems in Tlalpan, CDMX, adoption and impact assessments, and water quality analysis with the Pumagua laboratory. Multiple co-authored academic papers published between 2013–2020.
• ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013ITAM published a business school case study ('Caso Didáctico de Una Empresa Social: Isla Urbana') examining Isla Urbana as a social enterprise. This academic partnership provides legitimacy and research backing for the organization's hybrid nonprofit/social business model.
• World BankminorOthers · 1 January 2013The World Bank published 'Agua Urbana en el Valle de México' (2013), a study cited by Isla Urbana on water access gaps and infrastructure challenges in Mexico City. Isla Urbana's website links to this research as foundational context for the water crisis it addresses.
• CONAGUA (Comisión Nacional del Agua)minorOthers · 1 January 2013CONAGUA is referenced by Isla Urbana as a source of official water infrastructure data. The organization cites World Bank and CONAGUA projections showing enormous water deficits by 2030, worsening access for millions of people in Mexico.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Water.org: Water.org is a global nonprofit that combines water access programming with WaterCredit microfinance, reaching millions of people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Comparable to Isla Urbana in mission and outcome focus, but at vastly greater scale, broader geographic reach, and with a finance-enabled delivery model.
• charity: water: charity: water is a US-based nonprofit that funds water access projects globally with a transparent donation model and strong brand. Comparable to Isla Urbana in donor-driven funding structure and outcome focus, but with broader geographic footprint and different technology mix.
• LifeStraw: LifeStraw is a major consumer water filtration brand offering point-of-use filters and purifiers, with a community-giving program (Follow the Liters) for developing markets. Comparable in water-access mission but operates primarily through consumer products and partnerships rather than household infrastructure installation.
• WaterAid: WaterAid is a large international nonprofit working on water access, sanitation, and hygiene across 20+ countries including Mexico. Comparable to Isla Urbana in mission and water-access funding model, but operates at much larger scale and across multiple geographies and water technologies.
• Sawyer Products: Sawyer Products manufactures portable and household water filtration products (hollow-fiber filters, gravity systems) sold globally to consumers, humanitarian organizations, and NGOs. An adjacent water-treatment player comparable in humanitarian distribution but focused on filter hardware rather than rainwater catchment systems.

Emerging players

• Safe Water Network: Safe Water Network supports community-owned, financially sustainable water systems in Ghana, India, and Kenya, with a focus on small-enterprise water delivery. An emerging peer focused on sustainable water enterprises in developing economies, comparable in social-enterprise framing but with a centralized-kiosk model rather than household harvesting.
• Hydraid: Hydraid develops and distributes bio-sand water filters for community and household use in developing countries, with a training and capacity-building model. An emerging peer in point-of-use water treatment comparable in social-mission framing and last-mile distribution, but focused on filtration rather than rainwater harvesting.

Direct peers

• EcoFiltro: EcoFiltro is a Guatemalan social enterprise that designs, manufactures, and distributes ceramic water filters to underserved Central American communities through a hybrid social business model. Closest comparable to Isla Urbana in mission, geography (Latin America), and dual nonprofit/commercial structure, though focused on point-of-use filtration rather than rooftop rainwater harvesting.
• Potters Without Borders: Potters Without Borders trains local potters to produce and sell ceramic water filters for communities without safe water access, operating as a social enterprise similar to Isla Urbana. Comparable in social-enterprise model, household-level water treatment focus, and community-training approach, though much smaller in scale and concentrated in Central America.

Regional players

• El Porvenir: El Porvenir is a Mexican NGO that builds water and sanitation infrastructure in rural and indigenous communities across Mexico. Directly comparable to Isla Urbana geographically and missionally, with overlapping target segments (rural and indigenous Mexico) but focused on constructed water systems rather than rooftop rainwater harvesting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/islaurbanausa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/islaurbana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Isla Urban