$20 Backpack Could Save Farmworkers From Deadly Heat

María Hernández has worked in North Carolina tobacco fields for decades, where summer temperatures can soar above 110 degrees. The 53-year-old mother of four with diabetes worries every day about heat stroke, but she has few options to stay cool when water breaks mean walking across massive fields.

Now a simple invention could change everything for farmworkers like her. Elizabeth Mizelle, a nurse and professor at East Carolina University, is testing $20 hydration backpacks that let workers drink water without stopping their work.

The idea came from Mizelle's two brothers who served in the military. They used similar backpacks during deployment, which hold two to three liters of water and include a flexible tube for easy drinking. She wondered if the same technology could protect farmworkers facing dangerously hot conditions.

The timing couldn't be more critical. North Carolina's spring temperatures have risen 2.5 degrees since 1970, and summer 2025 brought devastating heat. Between May and September, emergency rooms recorded 5,748 visits for heat-related illness, far higher than the previous five-year average.

Farmworkers face the worst of it. When body temperature rises above 104 degrees, heat stroke can damage organs and become fatal. But North Carolina ranked dead last for worker protections in 2024, leaving employees dependent on their employers for safety.

Many workers can't easily reach water supplies in large fields. Others avoid drinking too much during breaks because it makes them uncomfortable. Some even ignore heat illness symptoms, fearing they'll lose their jobs if they stop working.

Mizelle's 2020 study found that 46% of outdoor workers started their shifts already dehydrated, and 100% ended their day dehydrated. That's dangerous because dehydration stops the body from cooling itself through sweat and can cause permanent organ damage.

Her first backpack study in 2022 included 47 male workers. Most found them comfortable and useful, and 90% said the backpacks helped them stay hydrated. A 2025 follow-up study shows similar promising results.

The Ripple Effect

The backpacks aren't perfect. They weigh nearly nine pounds when full, which could worsen the back pain many farmworkers already experience. And at $20, they're expensive for workers earning just $12.78 per hour minimum wage.

Mizelle wants farmers and workers to split the cost so both feel invested in the solution. She's also pushing for policy changes like California's laws requiring heat illness training, cool water access, shaded rest breaks, and prevention plans.

If the backpacks prevent even one case of heat stroke, Mizelle says, they've proven their worth.