In what is described as the first carbon-free humanitarian logistics effort, Grain de Sail has announced that it is partnering with two non-profits to deliver unused medical supplies from New York to the Dominican Republic by sail.

Grain de Sail is a French company that sells fine chocolates, coffee, and organic wines.  Its cargo-sailboat, a modern 72′ schooner, was built to carry wines across the Atlantic from St. Malo, France to New York and then pick up cocoa and coffee in the Dominican Republic and return to France. The schooner is currently on its third transatlantic voyage, bound for New York City, carrying 10,000 bottles of wine.

After discharging its wine cargo, the schooner Grain de Sail will load 20 pallets of unused medical supplies collected from throughout the New York Metro area by the Afya Foundation. The supplies will be carried to the Dominican Republic to be used by MOSCTHA Association, a local organization that runs a hospital and a mobile clinic addressing critical health needs in impoverished communities.

From their press release: With the first shipment leaving New York City mid-December 2021, Grain de Sail, Afya and MOSCHTA aim to launch a recurrent humanitarian sailing route between the US East Coast and the Dominican Republic – two direct shipments per year are planned. With the experience of Afya Foundation in collecting unused medical supplies, the expertise of Grain de Sail in shipping goods across the oceans with a cargo sailboat, and the knowledge of MOSCHTA in distributing those supplies to the communities in need, this partnership is consistent with the values that should drive every economic or humanitarian structures nowadays: caring for the people and caring for the planet. 

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Thanks to Roberta Weisbrod for contributing to this post.