GMU:BioArt WS15/Christian Doeller

The Komboucha-Project: How drinking tea can change our world

„Many small people, who in many small places, do many small things, can alter the face of the world“ (Anonymous)

Concept

The Komboucha-Project is a collaborative experiment in which our world is changed through individual actions.

Komboucha is a special drink that is made by combining usual tea with a specific kind of bacteria.
By adding sugar this bacteria grows on the teas surface whereby it forms a mushroom-like tissue called „Scoby“.
In a simple procedure the Scoby can be reproduced and recultivated to brew another batch of Comboucha.

The Comboucha-Project takes advantage of this simple reproduction method in order to reach big amounts of people, 
to spread their ideas and to connect them among each other.

Everything begins with the implementation of a first brewing process.
After the corresponding Scoby is big enough it will be cut in four pieces and distributed to four different people
along with an online brewing manual.
These four people then grow their own Scoby to make one single batch of Comboucha.
The brewing process lasts for ten to fifteen days.
During that time the participants think of their contribution for changing society as they want it to evolve. 
When the Comboucha is ready they record themselves confessing to their planned action before drinking the tea.
The video of this little ritual is then committed to the projects own youtube channel.
Each of their now fully grown Scobys is then again cut in four pieces and given to four different
peoples along with the online brewing manual and everything starts from the beginning.

Every participant gets in touch with a leftover of every previous brewing process.
Being reproduced and transferred to more and more people the Scoby gains and multiplies „memory of confession“. 
This memory draws an invisible connection line between the participants and their visions of change.

It is said that big changes begin with small steps.
If that is true then we should think of individually feasible strategies for change and implement them on a personal level.
Thereby it is very important that we again become aware of our responsibility towards our environment and our own actions.

This reminder is what the Comboucha-Project tries to achieve.
It considers the believe that freedom of choice and the power of an individual act can be used to create an environment of change.