Transportation for medical care

Project Description: Workers voted to use their Fair Trade Community Development Funds to buy a van to provide medical transport for workers.
Reason for the Project: Divemex workers identified a lack of transportation as a major barrier to accessing health care from the farm, which is located in a small rural community. Workers had to arrange their own transportation to appointments in nearby cities, and relied on staff's personal cars in the event of a medical emergency.
Project Outcome: The medical van is available free of cost for workers to reserve for appointments, and for immediate use in emergencies. The van is equipped with ambulance supplies so that the company paramedic can provide treatment on the way to the hospital, if necessary. In the first season of use, 25 workers used the van, saving time and money while improving outcomes in medical emergencies.