Kotomi Yamamura
Self Evaluation
The title of my in program-learning contract was, The Ethics and Business of Tea Production and Distribution. My first learning objective was to learn about the ethical concerns of tea production, currently and historically, and learn how current tea distributors balance sourcing ethically with the pressures of capitalism. My second learning objective was to learn about the history of Chinese and Japanese tea ware and how they’re used in daily life, and ceremony. My third was to explore how to teach through developing lessons about tea ceremonies and tea culture in Japan and China. Later in the quarter I added a new learning objective to learn how to curate and put together an art show.
I taught three tea workshops over the course of the quarter. The first workshop was about ethics of tea production in Darjeeling mixed with my research about how to open a tea and coffee shop. The second workshop was about the Gung Fu Chinese tea ceremony and education about tea ware. The third workshop was about the terrior of tea, and the Japanese tea ceremony. I served tea for my classmates, prepared the workshop material and created workshop handouts for each workshop, and wrote an e-journal post to document the experience and add any further thoughts. To prepare for the first workshop I read the book The Darjeeling Distinction by Sarah Besky, and the book, How to Open a Financially Successful Coffee, Espresso & Tea shop, by Douglas R. Brown. After reading the two books I wrote a corresponding blog post. I wrote posts describing my planning for finishing art pieces for my senior art show, the curating process, and the challenges I faced.
My original intention was to interview local and regional tea distributors to get their feedback about how ethics plays into their sourcing. The few who would have lengthy conversations with me either didn’t think about the ethics, or felt like they couldn’t because they couldn’t source enough to keep their business afloat. It was very enriching to read about the tea plantations in Darjeeling through the Darjeeling Distinction and begin to learn about how tea is produced and what I can do to support tea farmers, in India specifically. When I was looking for other material to learn about the labor conditions of tea farmers I didn’t find a lot of other resources besides the Darjeeling Distinction. I look forward to continuing to network with those in the tea community and continuing my research to further deepen the conversation about ethics and tea production. Through my research I do not think I will be able to open a tea shop. I came to the conclusion that ethical consumption under capitalism is nearly impossible. It will take me a while to find a healthy medium to be able to feel comfortable opening a shop. That is why I decided to add on the senior art show as a part of my hours to fulfill what I needed for my four-credit contract.
This quarter was challenging and rewarding. I found that I started the quarter off on top of my work and feeling optimistic about my last quarter at Evergreen, and then I had a lot of personal disruptions that caused me to fall behind. My family needed a lot of my support and time for resolving some family emergencies, on top of having some tension and uncertainty with my home life. Then when Evergreen was threatened and there were many closures my nervous system felt so on edge it was hard to approach simple tasks with a level head. I was taking two other four-credit programs that were studio based and the make up work after the closures took a lot of my time. Over all I am proud of still finishing my assignments and having the privilege to be apart of the learning community in this program. Life will always have its challenges and I am still learning how to find balance. The lovely part was that the portion of my ILC devoted to tea ceremony allowed me the time to sit and find peace when all around me felt like chaos. I am grateful to have spent my last quarter devoted to learning about ethics, ritual, and self-regulation and I look forward to taking these skills out into the world.