COLOMBIA: Colombian Indians take on Coca-Cola with their own brand of cola made from coca leaves

Record ID: 1535260

  • Title: COLOMBIA: Colombian Indians take on Coca-Cola with their own brand of cola made from coca leaves
  • Date: 14th January 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FABIOLA PINACUE, INDIAN LEADER OF THE NASA COMMUNITY, SAYING: "The founders of Coca-Cola have double standards, and we are talking realistically. We say drink the original, don't drink the copy, nor the imitation, I mean Coca Sek is the original, we don't deny it has the coca leaf present." VARIOUS: PEOPLE ARRIVING IN TOWN ON BUS; MAN DRINKING SOFT DRINK; GIRL DRINKING SOFT DRINK; MAN HOLDING LIGHTED ROCKET IN STREET (5 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 28th January 2006 23:26
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Colombia
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: Lifestyle,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA82Z40WEHR4KMANOLTJBZT0ZC9
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Colombian Indians are using the raw material of cocaine to make a soft drink they hope will displace in their area another, better known beverage with the same ingredient: Coca-Cola. Coca Sek -- a fizzy, sweet yellow drink with a fruity, slightly herbal taste -- is being made using coca leaf by Nasa Indians living high in the green mountains of Cauca Province in southern Colombia. There has already been plenty of initial buyer interest and the cooperative that produces the soft drink hopes eventually to export it. The Indians, who have invested 13,000 in U.S. dollars and aim to start producing a modest 20,000 bottles per month, hope that by selling a soft drink based on coca they will revive a key part of their culture by bringing it into the modern economy. For Fabiola Pinacue, one of the leaders of the Indian community involved in the production of Coca Sek, the coca plant is an extremely important part of their culture. "Coca is very important for us because it forms a part of our culture and is immersed in the areas of food, medicine and as a dietary supplement because of all the vitamin and protein content the coca leaf has," she said. Coca has long been sacred to the Nasa, who chewed the bitter leaf for its properties as a mild stimulant and appetite suppressant and used it in their rituals. But coca is also used to make cocaine and its traditional consumption, though legal for Colombia's Indians, is declining under the impact of the government's U.S.-funded war on drugs. In addition to preserving their customs the Indians also hope Coca Sek will, at least within their own territories, take some sales from Coca-Cola - a product for which they have a special animosity. The bad feelings towards Coca-Cola are partly because of union accusations of human rights abuses at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia. Coca-Cola denies the allegations. But Coca-Cola is also a worldwide symbol of the United States, which the Indians blame for the government's drive against coca. To top it off, this emblem of anti-coca America actually uses the leaf but won't admit to it. Fabiola helped launch Coca Sek in December at a stall in the market of the remote town of Inza as Indians nearby bartered produce including coca leaf for vegetables and live ducks. "The founders of Coca-Cola have double standards, and we are talking realistically. We say drink the original, don't drink the copy, nor the imitation, I mean Coca Sek is the original, we don't deny it has the coca leaf present," Fabiola told the townspeople gathered to hear about this new local product aiming to take on the big guns. Coca-Cola has remained extremely coy on the subject of coca, even though the leaf gave the drink the first part of its name and its qualities as a stimulant were included in early promotion in the late 19th century, when it was marketed as an "Intellectual Beverage and Temperance drink." At the time, cocaine was available over the counter in the United States and was recommended as a cure for many ills ranging from fatigue to hay fever. But Coca-Cola began to clam up over its use of coca leaves when a scare about the negative side effects of cocaine swept the United States in the early 20th century, leading to the drug being progressively restricted. These days, there are concerns over negative publicity about coca and that consumers might confuse the leaf with refined cocaine. However, there is a clear trail of legal coca exports from South America to the United States. Coca-Cola itself has occasionally owned up to using coca -- as it did in an interview with the New York Times back in 1988. Of course anyone hoping to get a cocaine hit from Coca-Cola will be disappointed -- the only "buzz" the drink gives comes from sugar and caffeine. For 100 years, the company has used a flavour extract derived from the leaf in a process that removes traces of stimulant. In contrast to Coke's reticence, the Nasa proudly admit that they do nothing to eliminate the active component of coca from Coca Sek, although it is present in such tiny amounts that it is impossible to notice any effect. Far from coca cultivation encouraging production of narcotics, the Nasa hope that by providing a legal outlet for coca leaf and purchasing it to make the drink as well as other products including coca tea, wine and biscuits, they will push drug traffickers from their territories. The cooperative making the drink pays growers about the same as traffickers -- about 3 U.S. dollars per 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of leaf -- but is much more responsible and does not bring violence or unwelcome police attention, Pinacue said. The idea to make Coca Sek comes as Colombia's Indian minority, particularly in Cauca, is becoming more aggressive. The Nasa have even tried to ban the different factions in the country's decades-old guerrilla war from entering their territories. While the Indians would like to eventually export Coca Sek, it is still early days - so much so that the launch of the drink in Inza was almost ruined when a car bringing the first few cases of the drink from a bottling plant in the city of Pasto broke down on a cold stretch of high altitude dirt road.
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