Mexican students turn water crisis into global innovation, compete for prestigious sustainability prize

In 2022, Monterrey experienced its worst modern-day h2o crisis. A cleanable tempest of drought, request and aging infrastructure caused dams to adust up — Cerro Prieto, which agelong supplied the Monterrey metro country with water, dropped beneath 1% capableness by July. Millions mislaid entree to pat h2o and protests erupted. State and national authorities enforced information measures, including six-hour rations of h2o usage per day. Some neighborhoods saw nary work for days astatine a time, forcing residents to cod h2o — often non-potable — from tanker trucks.

For a radical of students successful their 3rd twelvemonth astatine Escuela Secundaria Técnica No. 117 “Guillermo González Camarena,” h2o cuts were a regular world that disrupted their location life, acquisition and regular routines. But alternatively than simply endure the crisis, these teenagers decided to find a solution.

By utilizing disposable technology, the students were capable to extract moisture from humid aerial and nutrient cleanable h2o continuously. (Escuela Secundaria Técnica No. 117 “Guillermo González Camarena”)

Now, their innovative effect has earned them designation arsenic 1 of conscionable 33 planetary finalists for the 2026 Zayed Sustainability Prize. The students are competing against projects from 173 countries for up to $150,000 successful backing with their self-made hydrostations — modular machines that virtually propulsion drinking h2o retired of bladed air.

From h2o situation to assemblage innovation

The students’ travel from unfortunate to innovator reflects what their teacher, Professor Rogelio Monreal Moreno, calls a translation “from interest to action, and from enactment to consciousness.” During the highest of the crisis, these students made a determination that would alteration their full attack to learning.

“Finding the occupation was the easiest part,” 1 pupil explained. The situation was creating a solution that would enactment independently of existing infrastructure.

By combining star powerfulness with Peltier technology, the students were capable to extract moisture from humid air, a process that produces cleanable h2o continuously, without drilling, chemicals oregon dependence connected outer suppliers. The teens designed and assembled the hydrostations themselves, generating h2o to provender schoolhouse gardens, drinking fountains and tiny planters called “BioCápsulas” successful which they turn produce.

The task extends acold beyond h2o production. The students person created what they telephone “AD COGNIS,” a implicit acquisition ecosystem that transforms their schoolhouse into a surviving laboratory of subject and sustainability. Through the “ECOmunidad” integer platform, students way data, stock advancement and enactment successful biology challenges. The “ECOnocedor” programme develops enactment skills, STEM capabilities (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) arsenic good arsenic assemblage service.

“More than learning content, students person learned to spot themselves arsenic susceptible of sustaining thing real,” Monreal Moreno explained. “This task took them retired of the relation of ‘completing an assignment’ and enactment them successful the relation of knowing a occupation successful their situation and acting connected it.”

Competing connected the planetary stage

For their innovative thinking, these students are successful the moving for the prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize. (Escuela Secundaria Técnica No. 117 “Guillermo González Camarena”)

The Zayed Sustainability Prize, established successful 2008, recognizes innovative solutions that amended entree to healthcare, food, energy, h2o and clime resilience. Previous winners person impacted implicit 400 cardinal radical worldwide. This year’s contention is peculiarly fierce, with entries expanding by 30% implicit past year.

The Mexican students look formidable contention successful the Global High Schools category. They’re up against initiatives similar Kenya’s solar-powered vaccine refrigeration serving implicit 1 cardinal people, South Korea’s disease-free murphy accumulation benefiting 15 cardinal people, and Rwanda’s astute h2o ATMs serving implicit 500,000 people.

What distinguishes the Mexican task is its broad acquisition attack that goes beyond conscionable technology. While galore finalist projects code h2o access, these students person created some the method solution and an full model for biology acquisition and enactment development.

Student voices and household pride

For the students involved, the designation brings some excitement and responsibility. “My parents are blessed and proud,” shared 1 participant, capturing the assemblage enactment down the project. Another reflected connected the broader significance: “Getting to this prize is simply a large inspiration for galore young people.”

The task has amazed chap classmates and engaged students successful fields ranging from graphic plan to photography — each contributing to prototype improvement and task documentation. Monreal Moreno observed students transitioning from asking “what if it doesn’t work?” to declaring “let’s marque it better.”

No inventions travel without challenges, and h2o scarcity wasn’t the lone obstacle they faced. The students encountered aggregate hurdles successful processing their solution. For 1 student, the hardest portion was the improvement of the idea. “It takes a batch of creativity to fig retired however to marque it better, and it takes a precocious level of research.” Another pupil noted that portion the task has proved palmy locally, the radical is inactive “missing a mode to industrialize it,” scaling their solution beyond their school.

Students overcame galore hurdles to find a solution. (Escuela Secundaria Técnica No. 117 “Guillermo González Camarena”)

The acquisition interaction extends beyond method skills. Students person developed teamwork, connection and organizational abilities, but astir importantly, what Monreal Moreno describes arsenic “authentic self-confidence, the benignant that emerges erstwhile their enactment makes consciousness and serves others.”

Looking to Abu Dhabi and beyond

The winners volition beryllium announced astatine the Zayed Sustainability Prize ceremonial connected Jan. 13, 2026, during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. At the clip of writing, the students were moving to rise funds for the planetary trip, successful itself an workout successful learning task absorption and employing assemblage engagement.

Regardless of the contention outcome, the task already represents thing bigger: a exemplary for however method acquisition tin code real-world problems portion processing the adjacent procreation of biology leaders. The students program to grow their web to different schools, sharing open-source manuals and promoting biology self-sufficiency.

Their inaugural demonstrates that innovative sustainability solutions tin look from anywhere, and particularly from young radical with the creativity and determination to alteration challenges into opportunities. In a portion that faced “day zero” for its h2o supply, these students person created not conscionable a technological solution, but a caller mode of reasoning astir education, assemblage resilience and younker leadership.

As pupil Victoria explained, “The task inspires america due to the fact that we’re learning by doing thing precise useful.” Her words seizure what makes this inaugural truthful singular — students addressing existent problems portion transforming their ain acquisition successful the process, proving that the astir almighty solutions often travel from genuine knowing and determination.

Bethany Platanella is a question planner and manner writer based successful Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine deed that comes straight aft booking a level ticket, exploring section markets, practicing yoga and munching connected caller tortillas. Sign up to person her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog or travel her on Instagram.