Introducing the Mark IV AidPod
June 28, 2010 by Simon Berry · 4 Comments
A comparison of the cross-section of the Mark III (right) and Mark IV (left) AidPods. Hand-written numbers are volume calculations.
I was ruthless in the way I took advantage of a visit from my daughter over the weekend. Sorry (and thanks) Emma! You see, she can use Adobe Illustrator and I can’t (note to self: must make time to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator). Anyway, with me on scissors, glue, pencil, profile gauge and ruler and Emma on the computer we have come up with Mark IV of the AidPod.
Over the last few weeks as video and pictures have come back to me of the Mark III AidPod in crates in Africa, it had become apparent that some modification of the cross-section were required for it to fit properly between the necks of the bottles in crates. Thanks to Wes Browning of SemaFilms for the video clips and to all the people who have sent me photos and commentaries.
I only have one African Coca-Cola bottle and it is incredibly difficult to get an accurate cross-section of it but I think we have managed. Here are the Adobe Illustrator files Emma created in .AI and .PDF formats for those who are interested:
The image with this post compares the cross-section of the Mark III with that of the new Mark IV. The key problem with the Mark III was that it was too deep and hit the crate divider before it was fully inserted. I have compensated for having to shorten the AidPod and the thin end by making it slightly taller (and the fat end). There is a reduction in volume but the Mark IV still has a capacity of just over half a litre. Looking at these cross-sections again as I type this, I realise that the top section of the new Mark IV could probably be a bit wider - we’ll see.
Is ColaLife the only option?
June 10, 2010 by Simon Berry · 1 Comment
Image credit: Tim Dench, TOAD
ColaLife is trying to make simple medicines, and other social products, reach the same places that Coca-Cola reaches, that is, most places. This has proved to be a very popular idea. But can it be made to work? We intend to find out.
It is worth all the effort, because from where I am standing it looks like the only idea in town. As Village Reach points out, the establishment of a dedicated distribution system to get simple medicines to remote places would be ‘too expensive to procure’.
The world over, saving lives comes down to money. In the UK we have NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) who decide how we should spend the limited health resources and it all comes down to the level of bang you get for your buck. The same is true in developing countries except worse. There, demand for health services seriously outstrips supply and so it is even more important that you invest limited resources where they reap the largest benefit. It’s always going to be cheaper to save urban lives than remote, rural lives. From any standpoint, except the one of a parent with a dying child in a rural area, it makes no sense to set up and maintain a supply chain for simple medicines, and the knowledge of how to use them, to remote rural areas.
So what are we to do? The only practical option is to piggyback on distribution systems that are already there and one of these (but not the only one) is the Coca-Cola distribution system. Well, that’s the why I see it anyway. Comments?
[Posted from Gare D'Austerlitz while waiting to meet Jacques Macaire a ColaLife supporter in Paris :-)]
Win tickets to the Dream Factory exhibition preview
May 9, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Image courtesy of The Dream Factory. Honda.
On 21 May The Dream Factory Exhibition opens at The Dray Walk Gallery, Brick Lane, London ‘as a tribute to the Cultural Engineers and their inspirational work’.
Top row: Nihal Arthanayake; Simon Berry; Cath Le Couteur; Oliver Hemsley & Katy Dawe; Agents of Change; Pip McKnight & Ian Francis; Kevin Harman;
Bottom row: Dicken Marshall; Bridget Nicholls; Tom Podkolinski; Ben Ramsden; Richard Reynolds; Fabien Riggall; Tina Ziegler
The giant AidPod will be in the exhibition.
On the evening of 20 May, there will an invitation-only preview of the exhibition and the launch of a limited edition book featuring the ‘Cultural engineers’ that have been identified as part of the ‘Dream factory’ project. The ‘Cultural engineers’ above will be at the launch. You can enter a draw for an invitation to the preview here - scroll down to see the draw form. It would be great to see some ColaLife supporters there.
All this activity is around the launch of a new hydrid car - the Honda CR-Z. I’m pretty sure this will feature somewhere in the exhibition too!
An evening at Hult
April 21, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Illustration by Oana Mondoc
On Monday (19/4/10) I was invited back to the Hult International Business School in London to hear four proposals to raise the profile of ColaLife. These had been put together by four teams made up from the 40 international students from 25 different countries. It’s amazing what can happen when 40 young people put their heads together. The ideas included: A Facebook Game; A make your own animation challenge; A Flash Mob (watch this space) and a ‘Recycle for ColaLife scheme.
The above image came from one of the ideas and struck a chord. I really think there is mileage in this. The idea that the AidPod is the heart of a Cola crate. An idea worth developing I think. I will be reporting on the ideas we take forward here on the blog.
Fabulous new photos just in
February 26, 2010 by Simon Berry · 1 Comment
Thanks to ColaLife supporter Tim Dench we have the first photos of the Mark III AidPod in situ in Tanzania. Tim runs TOAD in his spare time. Please take a look.
This first slideshow shows the AidPod in the hands of our client group. Children!
And these are the first photos of the Mark III AidPod in a Coca-Cola crate in aremote part of Tanzania. OK, it’s only a model AidPod but it’s a step in the right direction.
Season’s Greetings to all ColaLife Supporters
December 17, 2009 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Thanks to Sam Berry (base image) and Luke Berry (robins and snowflakes), we have a ColaLife Christmas Card. This looks really good when printed on Moo Cards which is what I’ve done for family and friends (sad but true). Feel free to use the image yourself if you are looking for a different image for your eChristmas card. Click on the image to go to Flickr and grab the hi-res version.
If you do use the image please consider pointing people to the new Support Us page: http://colalife.org/support
A big thank you to the 10,000+ ColaLife supporters from around the world. We’ve made tremendous progress but there’s still a lot to do. I want to see AidPods in crates in Africa in 2010.
The giant AidPod is off to the RSA
December 6, 2009 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Tomorrow (7/12/09) morning at 6:30 I will be trying to get the giant AidPod on to a Virgin Train to London as a ‘bicycle box’! Well it worked last time:
Let’s hope the staff at Rugby are as understanding as the staff were at Euston. On arrival at Euston I’m being met by friend and ColaLife supporter Paul Webster (aka @watfordgap) and we are going to carry it to the RSA where it will spend Christmas. We will be leaving Euston at about 7:30 and this is our route. If you see us give us a shout!
A conversation with Julian Dobson
November 17, 2009 by Simon Berry · 1 Comment
I first met Julian when New Start Magazine was a twinkle in the eye around 10 years ago. Julian co-founded New Start Magazine with Kath Acres and Jamie Veitch. Kath was one of the first people I turned to when setting up the board of ruralnet|uk and she served as a trustee.
So it was great to meet up with Julian at Chain Reaction last week (12/11/09) and have this ColaLife conversation:
Below is an explanation of the AidPod mentioned in the interview.
Put the AidPod Animation on your phone
November 14, 2009 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
By popular demand (thanks for asking Lilian!) here are the AidPod animation files to download and put on your mobile device:
AVI format (8.7MB) - right-click and select ‘Save As…’
Quicktime format (9.3MB) - right-click and select ‘Save As…’
You can view the animation on the *NEW* ColaLife Channel.
Does anyone know how to make this go viral?
AidPod Animation Released!
November 13, 2009 by Simon Berry · 1 Comment
I’ve had this animation for a couple of weeks but didn’t want to release it before its debut at Chain Reaction yesterday where I had the privilege of presenting the ColaLife story (so far) during the opening plenary. It was a great event, my presentation will follow shortly.
A big thank you is due to my son Sam who put this animation together (the audio lets it down a bit but that’s down to me!).
Does anyone want a copy for their iPhone/mobile?
What others are saying about ColaLife- ColaLife on Flickr
-
Auto-translation
