Internet and ICT for Coffee Growers in Colombia

During the last week of February 2018, in alliance with the University of Antioquia, a pilot to provide Telemedicine services to the coffe grower families was succesfully implemented.This pilot was able to be made thanks to the installation and adaptation of technology to give access to Internet to the farms and educational institutions of the area. By using TV White Spaces technolgy we ensured the connectivity of 5 farms and 2 educational institutions in Mesetas, Meta. 

The telemedicine pilot was conducted in the villages of "Las Brumas" and "La Guajira". This service allowed the access for 17 people to medical assistance (video-conference) such as internal medicine, cardiology, psychiatry and dermatology. Through this pilot, the community was not only benefited by being attended by specialised doctors (located in Medellín),  it also meant saving money by reductions in travel time and transportation costs to Villavicencio (where they usually have to go in order to receive quality health services).

"The concept telemedicine refers to the use of information and communication technologies to provide and support health care and information services, regardless of distance, geographical, social and cultural barriers. (University of Antioquia)".

Thanks to the donations received through GlobalGiving to our project "Internet and ICT for Coffee Growers in Colombia", we have been able to contribute to improve the quality of life of about 600 people who have been victims of the armed conflict in Colombia, not only through processes for ICT adoption and/or ICT skills training, but also by services such as telemedicine.

Thank you for being part of this project and helping us to provide development, life quality and opportunities to more coffee growers families.

Links:

• Technology Transformation: Life improvement for Coffee Growers