In Remote locations of India, such as Assam, people do not have access to affordable eye care services. This directly impacts their livelihood, quality of work, productivity, daily output hence, the overall economy. The key objective of VisionSpring, Fair Trade USA & Honest Tea was to make the plantations a refractive error-free zone, to improve the work and personal lives of the workers, and to increase efficiency and productivity of the production process of the tea.
VisionSpring conducted eye screenings for 13 days across West Jalinga Tea Estate. From the 8th March 2016 until the 21st March, we conducted screenings at West Jalinga Tea Plantations.
1. Prepared by Aparajita Misra, Assistant Manager, VisionSpring
HONEST TEA
PROJECT
COMPLETION
REPORT
4/7/2016
A Honest Tea, Fair Trade USA and
VisionSpring Initiative
Increasing access to affordable eye care and high quality low cost eyewear
for West Jalinga Tea Estate, Silchar, Assam.
2. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 1
Abstract
VisionSpring in association with Honest Tea and Fair Trade USA conducted a vision
screening program for the estate workers of three plantations in West Jalinga Tea
Estate in Silchar, Assam. VisionSpring screened more than 3885 tea estate
workers and allied tea plantation populations with the objective of making the tea
estate a refractive error free zone. VisionSpring deputed a team of five consisting
of two Optometrists, one Counsellor, a Project Coordinator and a Project Manager.
The vision camps revealed a refractive error rate of more than 80%, i.e. more
than 80% of the population screened had a vision problem which could be
corrected with a pair of eyeglasses. The average age of all workers screened
was more than 40 years.
Based on responses gathered from the community, 90% of the screened
population received their first pair of eyeglasses as a result of the vision camps.
Eyeglasses created instant impact on the lives of the tea estate workers resulting
in enhanced working capacity, productivity, quality of work and life, improved
working hours without experiencing any of the discomfort caused by blurry vision.
The vision camps helped address an unmet need of limited or no access to
affordable primary eye care services. With this initiative we were able to ensure
access to affordable eye care and low-cost high quality eye wear in Silchar region
of Assam.
3. Honest tea Project Completion Report
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Index
INDEX .................................................................................................................................. 2
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................. 3
2. PROJECT BACKGROUND............................................................................................. 4
3. EYE SCREENING PROGRAM, DIBRUGARH ASSAM | SPRING-SUMMER 2016 ............ 5
Why screenings at West Jalinga Tea Estates?...................................................................................5
Screening camps at West Jalinga.........................................................................................................5
4. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS .................................................................................................... 7
Projects achievements..............................................................................................................................7
5. GRAPHS & TABLES | OUTPUTS, OUTCOMES & RESULTS............................................. 8
Camp data ................................................................................................................................................8
Referral of cataracts and other complex eye diseases....................................................................8
1. Graphs - Patient background........................................................................................................9
.....................................................................................................................................................................9
2. Graphs - Patient background........................................................................................................9
3. Graphs โ Diagnosis......................................................................................................................10
4. Graph - Other diagnosis.............................................................................................................10
5. Graphs โ Eyeglasses dispensed ................................................................................................11
6. A CASE STUDY ........................................................................................................... 12
Story of ..................................................................................................................................................12
7. KEY LEARNINGS AND TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................... 13
8. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................. 13
4. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 3
Executive Summary
VisionSpring, with the mission of increasing access to affordable eyewear everywhere, extended its initiative
of Vision Access Projects to Assamโs tea gardens with the support of Honest Tea and Fair Trade USA. Honest
Tea, Fair Trade USA and West Jalinga Tea Estateโs support provided all necessary logistical support for
conducting the program. West Jalinga Tea Estate also helped mobilize the worker population to attend the
vision camps at the tea estate.
VisionSpring deputed a team of five consisting of two Optometrists, one Project Coordinator, one Project
Manager and a Counsellor. This team was responsible for the following activities โ
๏ถ Screening of 5000 people for refractive error
๏ถ Determining eye power and dispensing eyeglasses wherever possible
๏ถ Identifying cases of cataracts, Glaucoma, and other common eye disorders such as Night Blindness
and referring them to local hospitals for further treatment
๏ถ Creating awareness about primary eye health and the importance of wearing glasses, etc.
๏ถ Capturing individual level patient data
Key Achievements โ
๏ท 3885 tea estate workers screened
๏ท 3134 eyeglasses dispensed
๏ท 3134 cases of refractive error identified
๏ท 90% of the beneficiaries who received a pair of eyeglasses were first time wearers
๏ท 558 patients had cataract and were referred to nearest Civil Hospital
5. Honest tea Project Completion Report
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Project Background
VisionSpring conducted vision screening camps in Assam 2014, for the first time, and found out the high
rate of refractive error among the tea plantation workers of Assam. After screening over 10,000 tea estate
workers in Assam we found over 70% of the tea plantation workers needed eyeglasses. VisionSpring and
Honest Tea decided to replicate the project in a new estate located in South Assam, Silchar, Assam. On the
demand of the unmet need of access to eye care services in Assam, VisionSpring, Honest Tea and Fair
Trade USA decided to take this intervention to the West Jalinga Tea Estate.
About The West Jalinga Tea Estate
Jalinga is one of the largest organic tea plantation in India. Combined with its sister estate Chardwar, which
is located right next to it, Jalinga accounts for over 30% of the entire organic tea manufactured in India
(if we exclude the Darjeeling organic tea production). Located in the state of Assam, Jalinga produces over
1 million kgs. of tea every year with a major focus on CTC production. This fair-trade certified estate is
known for its exclusive robust and rich CTC teas.
The Tea Estate had an existing healthcare program to cover basic daily needs of the plantation workers.
The vision screening camps, organized by VisionSpring were a welcome introduction to the existing suite of
healthcare facilities as they helped address a real need. The vision camps were also a huge success because
for a majority of the cases, they were able to provide an instant solution.
6. Honest tea Project Completion Report
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Eye Screening Program at Silchar,
Assam| Spring-summer 2016
Why screenings at West Jalinga Tea Estate?
The project with Honest Teaโs West Jalinga Tea Estate was
motivated by one of VisionSpringโs three pillars, โSee to Earnโ. โSee
to Earnโ aims at improving peopleโs productivity through the
restoration of their vision in order to improve their ability to work
with greater ease and efficiency. Research shows that there is a
direct correlation between providing workers with a pair of
spectacles and their productivity. A 2015 case study1 of a
threading factory showed that the average productivity of the
workers grew by 9.5% after restoring their vision.
West Jalinga works with more than 5000 workers that highly
depend on their ability to see things up close in order to do their
work properly. For this project, we screened about 80% of their
workers and allied families. While the project managed to
positively impact the lives of the workers who received eyeglasses,
a great opportunity still lays ahead for both VisionSpring and Honest Teaโs other Estates. Besides the general
comfort eyeglasses provides directly to workers, our vison camps also benefit the company as workers will not
only be happier, but also more productive and efficient.
1 Bhusan Pradhan, Keerti - Impact of Uncorrected Vision on Productivity-A study in an Industrial setting a Pair of Spectaclesโ, JMRH Volume 1
Number 2 (April - 2015)
7. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 6
Eye Screening camps at West Jalinga Tea Estate
VisionSpring conducted eye screenings for 13 days across West Jalinga Tea Estate. From the 8th March 2016
until the 21st March, we conducted screenings at West Jalinga Tea Plantations.
One of the major points of focus in โSee to Earnโ is the treatment of presbyopia. Presbyopia is an eye condition
that anyone can develop once they are more than 35 years old. The aging of the eye results in near vision
issues, which causes the patient to have difficulty seeing things up close. For the workers of Jalinga Tea Estate,
this inability can severely impact their work. Often, presbyopia can be treated easily with a simple pair of
reading glasses, which VisionSpring offers at a very low-threshold price of 75 rupees (approx. $1.12) for
plastic-framed readers and 120 rupees (approx. $1.79) for metal-framed readers. Apart from these ready-
to-read glasses, the optometrists also noted prescription orders for the treatment of myopia and hyperopia.
Whenever a more severe condition or disease was detected, the patients were referred to a suitable nearby
hospital for further diagnosis and treatment.
The key objective of VisionSpring, Fair Trade USA & Honest Tea was to make the plantations a refractive error
free zone, to improve the work and personal lives of the workers, and to increase efficiency and productivity
of the production process of the tea.
3885 Population
Screened
3134
Patients with
refractive
error
3134 Eyeglasses
Dispensed
8. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 7
3885 people
screened
3134 identified
with refractive
error
563 identified
with cartaract
2686 reading
glasses provided
on the spot
441 prescription
eyeglasses
provided
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Projects achievements
identified with refractive error and provided a pair of
eyeglasses to correct their vision.
80%
Enhanced
productivity of the
estate worker
9. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 8
Graphs & tables | outputs, outcomes &
results
Camp data
Date Location People Screened Refractive Error
Identified
08/03/2016 Jalinga TE 174 150
09/03/2016 Kalachera 179 165
10/03/2016 Dwarbund 195 181
11/03/2016 Jalinga TE 111 98
12/03/2016 Choto Jalinga West 478 420
13/03/2016 Choto Jalinga West 374 318
14/03/2016 Choto Jalinga West 129 91
15/03/2016 Borokai TE 233 183
16/03/2016 West jalinga 85 75
17/03/2016 Duwarban Gpo 351 269
18/03/2016 Choto jalinga Basti 393 305
19/03/2016 Duwarban Gpo 398 283
20/03/2016 Bagbahar Bosti 369 260
21/03/2016 Bagbahar Part 1 416 338
Total 3885 3134
Referral of cataracts and other complex eye diseases
S.No. Camp Date Total Other Disease Patient Identified Total Cataract Patient
Identified
1 08/03/2016 18 4
2 09/03/2016 13 7
3 10/03/2016 15 7
4 11/03/2016 10 0
5 12/03/2016 49 41
6 13/03/2016 40 30
7 14/03/2016 31 23
8 15/03/2016 31 31
9 16/03/2016 8 8
10 17/03/2016 85 84
11 18/03/2016 77 77
12 19/03/2016 110 112
13 20/03/2016 88 85
14 21/03/2016 61 59
Total 636 563
10. Honest tea Project Completion Report
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43%
57%
Male/Female Ratio of Population Screened
Female - 1681
Male - 2204
Graphs
๏ถ Patient background
The tea plantations have a fairly equitable distribution of men and women employees. Of the total
population screened, 57% were males and 43% were females.
Of the total population screened, maximum people fell in the age bracket of 41 years to 60 year olds. As per
VisionSpring data, between the age of 35 years to 65 years the chances of developing near vision problems
is high. This was the primary reason, the rate of refractive error was so high.
374
733
1152
928
544
178 67
18-30 years
old
31-40 years
old
41-50 years
old
51-60 years
old
61-70 years
old
71-80 years
old
80 and
above
Age group of people diagnosed with a refractive error
11. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 10
Diagnosis
The refractive error rate was as high as 80%. A large part of this can be attributed to the fact that the
tea plantation workers need to do
detail oriented work for continuous
hours resulting in squinting and over
stressing of the eye. In addition, a
majority of the plantation workers
were between 35 and 65 years,
where incidence of refractive error
rates are high.
Of the screened population, patients
identified with a complex eye disease
or cataract were referred either to a
local civil hospital.
3885
3134
West Jalinga TE
Refractive error - Incidence
Number of People
Screened
Refractive Error
87%
13%
Rate of Cataract Indentified
Population Screened Cataract Identified
12. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 11
8%
92%
First time wearers
Not the first time First time Wearers
Eyeglasses dispensed
3134 glasses were distributed through the project. Of the total population screened and provided with a
pair of eyeglasses, 92% of them were first time wearers.
86%
14%
Eyeglasses Dispensed
Reading Glasses Dispensed Prescription Orders
13. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 12
A CASE STUDY
Story of Jashoda, from West Jalinga Tea Estate
Jashoda is a 55-year-old tea plantation worker who works at the tea gardens of West Jalinga Tea Estate and
has been working here for more than 20 years of her life. She lives with her family (with her husband and son)
at the estate. After 8 hours of plucking in the tea leaves, Jashoda plays the role of a house wife where cooking
and other household chores are an important part of her day to day life.
Jashoda had been complaining to her family about a number of vision issues, including watery eyes, blurry
vision and headaches. Her husband took her to a local doctor who provided her eye drops to help her resolve
the irritation. In addition, he also gave her a prescription for eyeglasses. Unfortunately, for Jashoda, there were
no optical stores within a 50 km radius. Jashoda was also worried that the eyeglasses would be expensive and
difficult to procure.
The Vision camps organized by VisionSpring & Honest Tea allowed Jashoda get her eyes tested and provided
her with a pair of eyeglasses. She had a power or +3 in both eyes, which is a significantly high eye power.
After receiving a pair of eyeglasses, Jashoda was able to see better, work better and lead a quality lifestyle.
14. Honest tea Project Completion Report
Page 13
KEY LEARNINGS AND TAKEAWAYS
Vision issues are very common among tea plantation workers, especially since most plantation workers spend
7-8 hours a day trying to pick high quality leaves.
More than 80% of the tea plantation workers have some form of refractive error. Almost all of this can be
addressed with a pair of eyeglasses that can be dispensed on the spot.
Vision camps and eyeglasses tend to have an immediate impact on productivity and efficiency of the tea
plantation workers.
Vision camps can also significantly impact the overall quality of lives of tea plantation workers, who may not
have other means to get access to these services.
CONCLUSION
Based on the success of the camps, VisionSpring suggests that Honest Tea, Fair Trade takes this initiative to all
Fair Trade Certified Tea Gardens in Assam.
THANK YOU NOTE
The recently completed project may have been one of the most challenging yet as the tea plantation was in a
remote area and we encountered adverse weather conditions on our arrival. Yet we were able to successfully
overcome these barriers and make a difference to peopleโs lives by helping them see better. We are truly
grateful for this experience and it was immensely fulfilling. It has been an honor working with you. With the
continued support of the Honest Tea team at head office and the estate managers at Jalinga Tea Estate, we
were able to make the chosen estates refractive error free.
