The Alstom Foundation promotes Mexico's development

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Since its creation in 2007, the Alstom Foundation has carried out more than 150 projects around the world, in order to support sustainability, social development, the access to water and energy, mobility and environmental protection through far-reaching activities.

In Mexico, the Alstom Foundation has financed 12 projects. This constant work has allowed Alstom Mexico to sum in 2017, and for the fourth consecutive year, recognition by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI) and by the Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility in Mexico (Aliarse), as a leading socially responsible company in Mexico, with a commitment with the development and well-being of the country.

As part of his recent visit to Mexico, Barry Howe, Secretary General of the Alstom Foundation, toured part of the communities that benefit from the 4 projects that are currently implemented in the country.

Recovery of melipona honey
In collaboration with the Mexican Foundation for Rural Development, over 60 Mayan women from the community of Mani, South of Yucatan, have improved their quality of life and their families thanks to melipona honey production.

Through the production and sale of various products such as soaps, lotions and the honey itself, the role of women within their community has increased, turning them into entrepreneurs who generate income for themselves and their families, and at the same time protecting the ecological balance of the region. 

Coffee CO2
With the support of the Alstom Foundation and the Rainforest Alliance, the UNECAFE cooperative has played an important role in the implementation of sustainable practices for Oaxacan coffee production, managing to repopulate forestry areas damaged by bad coffee farming practices.

On par with the care of the coastal area of Oaxaca, this project seeks to achieve the Verified Carbon Standard, known by its initials in English as VCS, by which the communities of Santa Lucia Teotepec, San Juan Lachao, Soledad Piedra Larga and Santa Santa Rosa de Lima may develop and sell carbon credits in a voluntary market to companies that wish to improve their environmental practices.

Reforestation and restoration of la Chinantla
The Alstom Foundation will launch the second stage of the project for the conservation of the region of la Chinantla in 2018. Through strategic allies such as the EcoLogic Development Fund, and the Regional Environmental Fund of the Oaxaca Chinantla (FARCO), the Alstom Foundation will seek to restore and preserve more than 4 thousand hectares through reforestation and agro-forestry to strengthen food security in the communities.

Implementation of technologies for the improvement of Ejutla
One of Alstom Foundation´s allies has been the Group to Promote Education and Sustainable Development (GRUPEDSAC). Both organizations have joined forces again to support 20 families of Ejutla de Crespo, Oaxaca, in the construction of sustainable homes with technology to balance natural resources known as eco-techniques.

Residents of this community have improved their quality of life by building, themselves, cisterns for water harvesting with a capacity of 3 to 4 months, low fuel consumption stoves that improve the health by avoiding burning firewood, and the optimization of water consumption through the installation of dry latrines.

At the Alstom Foundation, we feel proud of participating in such complex, sustainable projects, whose reach and impact go well beyond the social benefits and the preservation of the natural environment, explained Barry Howe. My recent visit to these communities allowed me to attest that these projects are catalyzing new dynamics within the communities and their environment, he added.

To learn more about the Alstom Foundation: http://www.alstom.com/foundation/