ColaLife: Frequently Asked Questions

ColaLife pods in place IMG_2012 IMG_2019 Jess' designs

Frequently asked questions

You have a choice here. You can watch Simon Berry answer selected questions live or you can read a collection of questions and answers that have been asked about the ColaLife campaign. >> take me to the written questions and answers

FAQ1: How will the ColaLife AidPods get into the Coca-Cola distribution system? FAQ2: How did ColaLife get Coca-Cola’s attention? FAQ3: Will the AidPods be disposable?
FAQ4: Who needs to be involved locally? FAQ5: Where do Coca-Cola’s responsibilities begin and end? FAQ6: Which other organisations are a part of ColaLife?
FAQ7: What is ColaLife’s role in training and capacity building of public health workers? FAQ8: How will ColaLife be funded? FAQ9: How will ColaLife work with others?

Written questions and answers in no particular order

  1. How will we make sure that Coke don’t drop this idea; is it just a case of growing the campaign numbers?
  2. Is this idea regarded as “open-source”, eg do we mind if anyone else does it? (I personally think it should be)
  3. How can we test it?
  4. Where is the money coming from for the pod itself?
  5. How can we make sure that it is not used in any negative way or misused?
  6. Is there something that already exists that we could use rather than manufacturing from scratch?
  7. If it needs to be manufactured then what materials are appropriate to manufacture in Tanzania? (environmentalist hat)
  8. Does the pod itself need to exist at all? What is being added other than the easy ability to put them in and take them out of crates.
  9. What would the health organisations want to distribute - Information? Tablets? Condoms (which possibly fit with the Coca Cola brand)
  10. How would the medicines be introduced into the Coca Cola distribution network?
  11. Who takes responsibility for producing the Aidpod packaging and where can this happen?
  12. Who produces the crates and how are they distributed to Coca Cola? Can anything (e.g. materials) be taken from the crate production?
  13. What happens to the Aidpod after it has been used? Does it have another function?
  14. Who should pay to implement this idea?
  15. Who would administer the medicines in the aidpods?
  16. How do you ensure that the sellers at the receiving end don’t sell whatever is in the pod?
  17. Who distributes (within communities themselves) products such as hydration salts and condoms? How can one ensure this is transparent?

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How will we make sure that Coke don’t drop this idea; is it just a case of growing the campaign numbers?

I think growing campaign numbers is really important and it’s heartening how quickly the Facebook Group is growing at the moment: 38 new members in the last 24 hours. This keeps some sort of pressure on Coca-Cola and keeps people like the BBC and others interested.

But obviously it’s more than this. A growing group gives me an on- going mandate to continue dialogue with Coca-Cola. At the moment we are exchanging emails a couple of times a week and things are moving forward.

It’s not just about numbers, it’s about the richness of ideas, engagement on the ground and so on.
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Is this idea regarded as “open-source”, e.g. do we mind if anyone else does it? (I personally think it should be)

Yes it is and the fact that we have entered the Google 10^100 competition further evidence of this.
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How can we test it?

The current focus is to get properly monitored trials of the idea up and running in Tanzania and this will mean several parties working together - it’s not just about us or Coca-Cola or local people doing something, it’s about all of us doing it together . . . . complex!
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Where is the money coming from for the pod itself?

In the short term I’d like Coca-Cola to fund this BUT not in the long term. This will not be sustainable if we expect Coca-Cola to fund it. It is not Coca-Cola’s job to fund public health services. There is fund available elsewhere for this.
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How can we make sure that it is not used in any negative way or misused?

By keeping a high profile and maintaining ownership of the idea by continuing to move it forward. But this is a risk and at the face to face meeting Simon Cohen of Global Tolerance agreed to look into this and come up with a contingency plan (due at the end of Jan).
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Is there something that already exists that we could use rather than manufacturing from scratch?

Not sure - but something to think about - I doubt it though.
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If it needs to be manufactured then what materials are appropriate to manufacture in Tanzania? (environmentalist hat)

I already have the details of a manufacturer of plastic products in Tanzania that supplies ice boxes to Coca-Cola but it may be that plastic is not the answer. But for sure, local manufacture is. Jess Ponsford is going to talk to colleagues at Loughborough University about suitable materials.

Although the view I gathered in Tanzania was that the aidpod should be disposable, I have spoken to a logistics expert who has worked for Coca-Cola and he says that the idea of a re-usable aidpod should not be discarded because the process of returnable bottles and crates is already in place and this process could ‘carry’ a re-usable aidpod.
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Does the pod itself need to exist at all? What is being added other than the easy ability to put them in and take them out of crates.

YES (IMHO)! The aidpod is a bit of an innopvation and does loads of things that are really important: - it means that what is distributed can be locally determined (=important) - it de-links the Coca-Cola product with any particular ’social product’ which provides more scope for what can be distributed. As far as Coca-Cola is concerned it is linked with this ‘life saving coalife aidpod’ not a specific social product (=good) - it makes the model much more replicable (=bigger impact).
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What would the health organisations want to distribute - Information? Tablets? Condoms (which possibly fit with the Coca Cola brand)

Who knows? We certainly don’t. This is why the colalife aidpod is such a great concept (IMHO).
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How would the medicines be introduced into the Coca Cola distribution network?

It is important that that this idea does not disrupt the existing distribution system. In any case this would not be acceptable to Coca-Cola and it would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. This is the current idea:

  1. AidPods are filled by those with responsibility for public health locally (probably a mixture of Government Departments and local NGOs).
  2. AidPods are placed in boxes and delivered to the collaborating bottler - these may be specially shaped to make use of unused space on the lorry. However, during the trial phase these may simply be placed behind the seats in the driver’s cab.
  3. These are loaded onto the delivery lorry as it leaves the bottling plant. In Tanzania the lorry will go to just one Manual Distribution Centre (MDC) and unload it’s entire contents ie they don’t do ’rounds’. This means that all crates AND all AidPods would be unloaded at the destination MDC.
  4. Boxes of AidPods would stored at the MDC and would be placed in the crates as they are loaded onto the hand-carts for delivery to the retail outlets

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Who takes responsibility for producing the Aidpod packaging and where can this happen?

This should be done locally.
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Who produces the crates and how are they distributed to Coca Cola? Can anything (e.g. materials) be taken from the crate production?

As I understand it, crates are produced and damaged ones recycled locally. In Tanzania a company called SIMBA Plastics manufactures Ice Boxes for Coca-Cola.
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What happens to the Aidpod after it has been used? Does it have another function?

The people I interviewed in Tanzania thought the AidPod should be ‘disposible’ (see video). However, this was a very small sample! The distribution system is set-up to take back empty bottles/crates and so there is a mechanism for getting the AidPods back to the bottlers for re-use. Exactly how this worked would need to be investigated further. Jane in her comments on the More thoughts on the ColaLife AidPod design, points out that the AidPod would be a waterproof and insent-proof container which could find other uses.
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Who should pay to implement this idea?

I think we need to break this down into two phases: the trial phase and the roll-out phase.

In the roll-out phase I think Coca-Cola should NOT pay. In fact if we go into this project with this in mind it will severely limit the impact of this idea. In the long term, all we want from Coca-Cola is access to their distribution system.

However, we do need to trial the idea and a successful implementation of the ColaLife idea will definitely benefit Coca-Cola in many ways so I think it is reasonable to expect Coca-Cola, or the Coca-Cola Foundation, to contribute the costs of trials.

During the roll-out phase there are many sources of funding through local government, NGOs and usual aid and donation channels.
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Who would administer the medicines in the aidpods?

It would depend on the local laws, the nature of the ‘medicines’ and the knowledge of how to use them in the recipient community. All ColaLife will do is get the medicines to the places you can buy a Coca-Cola (most places). It may be that at this point they are collected by a community health worker to be used in a local extension programme. It may be that they are simply sold like any other commodity or it may be appropriate to give the medicines away. What happens when the medicines arrive at the local destination should be determined by local experts with the long term responsibility for public health.
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How do you ensure that the sellers at the receiving end don’t sell whatever is in the aidpod?

It may be that the sale of the contents of the aidpod is the way local authorities and NGOs decide to implement the ColaLife idea. If the plan is to give the medicines away for free and selected retailers choose to sell them then there is little one could do to stop it especially if they were the only retailer in the area. In developing counties I have seen butter marked ‘Gift from the European Union. Not to be sold’ for sale in supermarkets.
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Who distributes (within communities themselves) products such as hydration salts and condoms? How can one ensure this is transparent?

Again the systems for distribution beyond the Coca-Cola crate must be determined locally. It is not up to external agents like us to dictate how this should be done. See the answer to question 15 also.
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