My Goal
To create an iOS application compatible with the Apple Watch that will protect the rights and safety of farmworkers working in the fields of the Central Valley.
My mission is to change the statement “work or health" to "work AND health.”
I am raising funds to convert Calor from a web-based platform into an iOS application.
My Background
My name is Faith Florez! I'm currently a senior in high school! I was born and raised in Shafter, California. My family, the Florez's, have lived in here since the 1900's. They worked in the Central Valley fields, picking every crop imaginable -- grapes, almonds, roses, cotton, watermelons, strawberries, and carrots.
Unfortunately, my great-grandmother died because of the conditions still in our fields. She is one of many.
The Problem: Heatstroke
Farm workers harvest in some of the hottest regions of the country and at least four US farm workers die from heat annually—20 times the rate in all non-military employees, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Despite living in 2017, farm workers still die in the fields. In fact, within the last decade, there have been over 55 heat-related deaths (California Occupational Safety Health Agency).
The heat-stress epidemic is hard to solve without notification and education given fast-paced piece rate agricultural system currently in place.
The Research Behind The App
The original concept and plan for the farm worker heat stress protection app was the brain child of our founder Faith Florez, who was fortunate enough to have her proposal selected by graduate coding students at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering in 2016.
The final product was the first ever farm worker heat notification web-based application developed after an intense year of meetings with farmers, contractors, farm workers, and state regulators.
Calor App: How It Will Function
This IOS Apple Watch application will do the following:
1. Allow farmworkers to receive notifications when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold of 95 degrees, so that that farmworkers working in the fields take their legally mandated break for water, shade, and rest.
2. Allow farm workers to receive notifications containing tips on what to wear, eat, and drink to prepare for work in the fields based off weather data and individualized medical information.
3. Host short educational articles, videos, and quizzes to educate farm workers about how to ensure their own safety and health as well understand their legal rights on the job.
4. Function as a two-way emergency hotline to 911, contractors and health agencies by the utilizing built in GPS tracking services in order to locate farm workers in periods of distress caused by heat and dehydration.
Users and Providers of the Watch & App
Farm workers will have access to wearable Apple Watches in the pilot. Farmers will either directly or through their contractors provide a wearable watch at the beginning of the harvest job to their farm workers. Farmers in the original pilot will purchase the watches, however we are fundraising to help defer this cost. In the future, as an financial incentive, we expect farmers and insurance companies seeking lower workers compensation rates to use the watch/app to reduce heat illness, improve health and collect vital health data.
Fundraising for the Calor App
The effort is sponsored by the Latina Legacy Foundation. Early funds for the project were awarded by a Grant from the HERlead Fellowship Program sponsored a partnership between Vital Voices, the preeminent non-governmental organization whose mission is to invest in women leaders who improve the world, and ANN INC., parent company of Ann Taylor, LOFT and Lou & Grey.
All donations to the project are tax-deductible as a project offered by the Latina Legacy Foundation.