CHAYAMA REVITALIZATION

Case Study 06

In a remote village in the mountains of Kyoto, what remains serves as evidence that this micro-region was once a vital tea-producing hub where community, food, cultivation, and forest, all coexisted. We call this place “Chayama”, tea mountain, and not tea farm, as our interest lies in realizing a bio-diverse forest where tea, bamboo, hinoki cypress, sansho pepper, and all other living things intermingle. Our aim is to activate the mountain through sustainable utilization. We’ve begun pruning tea trees that have gone rouge over the decades to let more light into the forest floor and reignite the earth. The mountain serves as an invaluable educational resource. We practice holistic living by integrating the abundance of the tea fields into daily life. Our approach goes beyond mere preservation. We focus on active stewardship. Here, we conduct ongoing fieldwork and application. Which means, we brew tea leaves from Chayama for our tea-dyed Workwear Haori.

Under our mission, "Traditional Materials for Today," Kyoto Research Institute conducts ongoing fieldwork and practical research. However, an initiative of this scale cannot be accomplished by a small team alone. We are seeking partners who are passionate about land restoration and the sustainable utilization of tea.

To learn more about how your organization can help support out activities, please contact via the form below.