Coca Colla

Coca Colla Energy is a refreshing drink from Bolivia, whose basic ingredients are made from the leaf of the South American coca shrub.

Composition

The name of the drink consists of a hand composed of the name of this shrub, the second half of the name refers to the indigenous people of the Bolivian highlands, which is popularly called " Collas ". The product contains extracts of coca leaf and water, sugar, colorings, flavorings and caffeine, as well as it should (according to the head of the production plant, President Víctor Ledezma Fuentes ) rich in calcium, vitamin A, E, B1, B2, iron, phosphorus, zinc be copper.

Cocastrauch

The cultivation of coca in the Andean countries only legal in certain quantities, the further processing of sheets for cocaine or its precursors is strictly prohibited. Since 1988, in Bolivia applies the law in 1008, which allows an annual acreage of 12,000 hectares in the Yungas region near La Paz for the traditional use of the leaves. The origin of the drink goes back to initiatives by coca growers ( cocaleros ) to expand the legal uses for the coca shrub. Its cultivation is the only source of income for many small farmers in the Bolivian Andean valleys, as the shrub can be planted even on steep slopes.

Production and sales

Coca Colla is generated by the private cooperative OSPICOCA, the " Organización Social para la Industrialización de la Coca " (social organization to the industrialization of coca ), which includes under its President Víctor Fuentes Ledezma about 9000 members. From January to April 2010 30.000 bottles were initially only within the manufacturing plant in the city of Santa Cruz delivered. In the second week of April 2010 was the first national delivery of another 12,000 bottles in the cities of La Paz and Cochabamba. Since July 2010, the daily production of 24,000 bottles in Santa Cruz until the end of the year it will be expanded to 36,000 bottles a day.

Although the production is carried out by a non-governmental producer community, it is endorsed by official Bolivian government policy. " This is a very welcome initiative, as it is linked with industrialization and commercialization of coca leaf ," the Bolivian Minister for Rural Development, Víctor Hugo Vásquez. The Bolivian President Evo Morales has promised to extend the legal coca acreage by law at 20,000 hectares, if the diversification efforts to use the coca plant are successful.

Foreign interest in the Bolivian drink is expressed mainly by the countries Venezuela and Paraguay who are considering not only the import but also financial support for production. According to Victor Ledezma, Iran has also made ​​a request to two million bottles of the drink.

Since September 1, 2010 renamed " Coca Colla Bol Energy" under the company name " Coca Life Ltda. ", An expansion to the European market is planned. Even if these still festeht an exact time, it is assumed that the product from the fourth quarter of 2011 will be available.