Fieldwork becomes a reality
August 29, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Apologies for the lack of blog posts recently but there has been a lot going on and some exciting developments in the pipeline that I can’t QUITE report just yet. But I can report that, thanks to the ColaLife supporters who sponsored me and the other cyclists, we have raised enough money for a trip to Zambia in October which is brilliant and just where we wanted to be at this point.
The ColaLife team (there are 3 of us at the moment!) have been researching various African countries for a few weeks now. We’ve been tagging some of the key information we have found ‘colaliferesearch’ and you can see these resources here.
Why Zambia? We have looked at the following countries as possible locations for a trial of the ColaLife concept: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. This has involved looking at the overall country data on population, culture, health, Coca-Cola-related infrastructure, drug availability and supply chain and public health infrastructure. We have also looked at case studies of existing health initiatives and we have initiated conversations with local and international NGOs and government officials in some of these countries. Assessing all of this information, Zambia is the country we would like to focus on initially for the independently evaluated trial. I am in communication with Coca-Cola and I’m expecting them to provide an introduction to their bottler, SABMillier, in Zambia.
With Zambia in mind we have started to reach out to likely partners for the trial and so far have strong interest from:
- CHAZ (Churches Health Association of Zambia) who are THE most important health provider especially in the remoter parts of Zambia;
- Transaid (Transport for life) - who have a deep understanding of health logistics in Zambia. They have just completed a three year project there. Incidentally, they have also done work for SABMillier in the past, training SABMiller drivers.
- Old personal contacts of mine from when I worked in Zambia
Since making this decision, old friends on mine in Zambia have offered accommodation and transport which is brilliant. During the coming week, before the bicycle ride, we will be making additional links including to Zambia’s Ministry of Health, the DfID-supported MSL (Medical Stores Limited) and with DfID itself.
I will be outlining the detail of the visit and what we want to achieve in a future post.
Onwards and upwards.
Participation Ride Blog launched
August 25, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
First of all, a big thank you is due to all of you who put your hands in your pockets and sponsored me and the three other riders. I have now hit my target so a trip to one of the African countries we have been researching like mad is now on the cards for the autumn. We are now in communication with key local partners. We hope to be able to announce the country and dates for fieldwork very shortly.
Regarding the cycle ride, I intend to be blogging from the saddle, WiFi permitting, and I have a clever device which will be sending my location to a Google Map in near real time (via satellite). So you’ll be able to share in some of the excitement with none of the pain! The live map is here. However, I thought it wise to spare all ColaLife supporters all the detail of the ride and so I’ve set up another blog to carry the story of the ride for those who are interested. The url of The Participation Ride Blog is: http://aidpod.org (for obvious reasons).
Onwards and upwards!
Follow the ride live!
August 19, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Last night, just before packing it in for the day, my iPhone made the noise of money falling on a table - the JustGiving App on the iPhone is really quite good - this was significant because a very generous friend and ColaLife supporter had just donated the amount of money I needed to reach my target of £1,500.
This means I’m off to Africa to meet face-to-face with the people we’ve been researching and communicating with by email and Skype to work together to co-design a trial of ColaLife! If you haven’t donated yet please don’t hold yourself back because the other riders haven’t met their targets yet and are stressing a bit! >> How to
I find this fundraising lark really quite difficult and I’m really grateful to all those who have responded to my pleading emails and put their hands in their pockets and/or sent kind tweets, written a blog post or whatever. I don’t take your support for granted and you will see the results of your support unfolding here.
It’s also good to make things fun if you can. So, I’ve set up The ColaLife Participation Ride 2010 Blog! The url is aidpod.org (for obvious reasons) and it features a LIVE map. While we are cycling this map will be updated every 15 minutes or so. I will also be blogging from the saddle, WiFi access permitting, so supporters will be able to participate in a lot of the excitment with none of the pain.
Thanks again for your support!
Super cheap tea bag-like water filters?
August 18, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
This looks like a really interesting development from South Africa. It’s a water filter that consists of a re-usable bottle and a replaceable, tea bag-like filter containing carbon and antimacrobial fibers that costs around half a US cent.
If it gains the necessary approvals this product is expected to make it onto the market by the end of this year and then field trials would determine its viability in the field. A key concern is that the system will require a continuous supply of filters and how would these get to remote areas? ColaLife, if successful, might be able to help out here.
This was spotted here on Treehugger.com who also provided some useful links to other possible drinking water solutions for Africa:
Clean Water Everywhere: DIY Clay Water Filters
Filtered Water In 2 Minutes with New UV Light Bottle Invention
Fundraising for fieldwork - help create the Sprat . .
August 11, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
. . . to catch the Mackerel.
For the first time since the start to the ColaLife campaign two years ago I am asking supporters to put their hands in their pockets to help us move to the next phase - fieldwork that will lead to the trial of the idea in Africa. In July we were shortlisted for an award from the Clinton Foundation but, in the final analysis, we were not successful. This tells me three things:
- We will get serious funding to implement a trial of the ColaLife one day
- We need build on the desk research and communications work we are doing by visiting the country of the trial and getting some face time with the key players
- We need to work with these key players to co-design the trial and then take the plan to the likes of the Clinton Foundation for funding
On 4 September three of us are cycling from Boulogne to Biarritz to raise the money to fund this fieldwork. The cycling is an awareness raiser, a device to get people’s attention but all the riders are funding all their own expenses so that 100% of all donations will go to ColaLife. The money raised will fund the fieldwork which will produce the plan for the trial which will be put to the likes of the Clinton Foundation and Coca-Cola for funding. Your donation will have a multiplier effect. It will fund the creation of the trial plan. It will be the Sprat to catch the Mackerel.
PLEASE SUPPORT US in this. You can donate here. And this is why we need your support.
Your donation won’t be the end of it . . . you will be able to follow the progress of the ride live online. Our location will be updated every ten minutes or so to an online map throughout the journey. I will also be blogging from the saddle. So you’ll be able to join in the fun with none of the pain! Links to follow.
The riders
Kiefer (17), Nigel (50-ish) and Simon (me) (the oldest by some way)
The ride
Indicative route only at this stage. Image courtesy of Google Maps
Breaking things down, cutting things a different way
July 30, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Graphic from ColaLife Scenarios - Africa Village with shop
ColaLife is a very simple idea. However, if it’s to work it will require people and organisations to work together who have never worked together before. In other words it’s complicated. This has led me to think that perhaps we should take things one step at a time. Our current published strategy does this. First we want to do fieldwork and build the partnership that would be necessary to trial the ColaLife idea and then support this partnership in the co-design of the trial and then do the trial. But may be we should break things down further.
What if we cut things another way? We could focus initially on the issues associated with the distribution chain before we start carrying ’social products’. This would look at the following:
- Options for the design of the AidPod (single use; possible secondary uses; re-usable; biodegradable; insulated etc)
- The design of the boxes that would carry them before the individual AidPods are introduced into the drinks crates
- The design of the procedures and processes including:
- When and how to introduce the AidPods into the system to cause the least friction (both logistical and legal)
- Risk assessment for the partners involved
- How to mitigate these risks
- How to effectively track AidPods
- All the informational and motivational elements including:
- What incentives would be required, if any, to ensure wholesaler participation?
- What would be the key motivators for the retailer?
- What would be the key motivators for the bottler/haulier?
- What temperature fluctuations would the contents of the AidPods experience?
Such a trial would not require all the regulatory clearance necessary if we were carrying medicines but would provide the information we would need to determine which ’social products’/medicines could be carried. And this may whet the appetite of the regulators and make the acquisition of regulatory approval more simple down the line.
Thoughts?
Scenario 2 | Working with the Drinks bottler
July 27, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Scenario 2
This presentation is intended to be a conversation starter. It outlines one way the ColaLife concept might be deployed in the situation where the national infrastructure for the distribution of medicines to the district level is non-existent or below capacity. Press the play button to advance the presentation. When the presentation ends, you can pan and zoom freely using your mouse. Further scenarios will follow. Comments?
View other scenarios are here.
Scenario 1 | ColaLife complements distribution to District level
July 26, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Scenario 1
This presentation is intended to be a conversation starter. It outlines one way the ColaLife concept might be deployed in the situation where the national infrastructure for the distribution of medicines to the district level is in place. Press the play button to advance the presentation. When the presentation ends, you can pan and zoom freely using your mouse. Further scenarios will follow. Comments?
View other scenarios are here.
ColaLife presentation | Wieden + Kennedy | Canvas8
July 23, 2010 by Simon Berry · 2 Comments
Thanks to the good people at Canvas8, here is a video of the ColaLife presentation given at the Wieden + Kennedy (Coca-Cola’s Advertising Agency) premises at Brick Lane on 23/6/10.
There are two elements of the presentation that do not come over in the video:
- The Commitment from Coca-Cola to ‘trial the ideas behind ColaLife’
- The AidPod animation
Both of these are given here:
1. The Commitment from Coca-Cola to ‘trial the ideas behind ColaLife’ (ignore the first 45 seconds):
2. The AidPod animation:
Kolkata calling . . .
July 22, 2010 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Last Tuesday (20/7/10) ColaLife went global with calls programmed with India, Canada and the USA. The most exciting of all the calls was with members of the ColaLife group in Kolkata, West Bengal. This was organised by one of the group’s leaders Raghav Daswani. We ran it over Skype and the format was a short introduction and update from me followed by a Q & A session. Those participating were students of La Martiniere Calcutta, an independent school.
The ColaLife Chapter there was set up by Ragav and Rohin Daswani. The students in Tuesday’s audience ranged from those interested in Business Studies to Design. The group have already arranged a tour around their local Coca-Cola bottling factory, to see how the process works - and quickly came to the conclusion (which ColaLife fully endorses) that any support given by Coca-Cola or their bottling partner to an initiative like ColaLife needs to happen beyond the factory - with co-operation of the hauliers and transporters of the drinks crates. Now they would like to understand ColaLife better and to find out what they can do to help.
A key question raised was how local organisations and local people who need simple medicines engage with the ColaLife proposals. This is often asked - and is a vital point. It’s helpful to illustrate the answer with a graphic - see below.
This graphic is explained in more detail here.
The students at Hult Business School asked me a similar question when I was there a couple of months ago. Their questions were captured on video and can be viewed here.
Affordability of the medicines and how they would be priced was also raised. This is also partly answered by the links above: in broad terms, it will depend on how the proposed ColaLife distribution model fits into the supply chain. Depending on the country, legal issues, the partners and the supply chain route, medicines might be delivered to a remote retail shop (to be sold in the usual way), to a rural clinic (to be used as part of their public health stock), or, for example, be packed as a diarrhoea kit and picked up by the local birthing partner to support her work with new mothers. Some global initiatives, like the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm) is specifically trialling the effects of distributing highly subsidised anti-malarials - and the ColaLife delivery model might offer part of the supply chain solution in that kind of initiative.
Joining up with other ColaLIfe groups in other countries - to exchange ideas on local fund-raising for group activities, and just talk to like-minded young people in other countries - was an idea very popular among the group. This is just what we would like to happen. ColaLife already has groups in USA (Wellesly College) and in Warwick University, UK. The Warwick group has a Facebook page - an easy first step in making links between groups.
There are lots of other ways groups can help. For example, our Intern, Dennis Tretter, is currently collecting information about botttlers in Africa, and drawing up country profiles on health and other issues, to support our research. India is a huge country with a lot of regional variation in culture, socio-economic and health aspects. Having local students in India to pull together some of this research for us would be a great help - and the same goes for information on bottlers and hauliers. We’re also at the stage where answers to design questions would be useful: What design and manufacturing capability exists in different regions? Does the current AidPod model fit in all the drinks crates in India; and if not, how could it be modified to fit, for example, in crates of Fanta bottles? What kind of AidPod would be most appropriate in a given region (for example, single use, bio-degradable, return and re-use, secondary uses) and what might it be made of (plastic? water-proof card?)
‘Can we go to the media in India?’ was another question asked. ‘Can we try to make ColaLife a public phenomenon?’ the group wanted to know. Anyone who has had brush with the media knows that PR can be a double-edged sword. It is important to get expectations right. We are not claiming that ColaLife is a universal solution to all health product distribution problems. There are many other great ideas out there - such as LivingGoods.org in Uganda - and many possible variations of the ColaLife co-delivery model. Our message to the media and all our stakeholders is that ColaLIfe is an idea worth testing. It is much better for us to generate interest and contributions to the ColaLife idea from our friends and wait for the media to come to us.
Thanks again to Ragav and Rohin to organising this very enjoyable Skype occasion!
What others are saying about ColaLife- ColaLife on Flickr
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