At the end of last year, Nick posted about Coca Sek, a
soft drink that was being produced by the Nasa community, indigenous people to southern Colombia. The carbonated,
citrus-flavored soft drink is made from coca leaves, the same coca leaves that are processed with solvents and other
chemicals to produce cocaine. However, the narcotic form, cocaine, is foreign to the Nasa people, for whom
the coca leaf is sacred. Nasa people consume coca leaves by simply chewing them and in the form of food and tea.
Despite controversy with respect to indigenous peoples' rights, drugs, economies, Coca Sek sales are gaining ground. What was initially a production volume of 3,000 bottles a week has almost tripled. Governments are backing off the Nasa people who are claiming sovereignty, the Nasa people are trying to "mainstream" coca leaves by promoting their pain-killing, nutritive, and spiritual benefits. Additionally, the producers of Coca-Sek are paying a higher price for coca leaves - about $15/bag of leaves - which is higher than what drug traffickers offer. That makes Coca-Sek an effective weapon in the war on drugs because "each leaf that goes to making the drink is one leaf less for the narcos."
Still, I highly doubt that Coca Sek will ever make it to the US.
What Can I Get You Folks? - Eating Out for Thanksgiving
In Defense of Guy Fieri
'Top Chef Vegas' - And Then There Were Five
