“I’ve just heard from Paul Christoforou, he’d like us to come on his radio show Afternoon Tea.” Cool. “This afternoon.” Right. Queue a morning spent brushing up on our tea, documentary and fair trade facts before arriving at Cambridgeshire’s 209 Radio’s studios.

We weren’t allowed to bring tea into the studio so we did the tea tasting pre-show. Silver Tips, Sencha, Kashgar, First Flush and Russian Caravan were distributed between Paul, the nice men at the front desk and Geoff, who would also be appearing on the programme with his box of ‘Comedy Tunes’.

Before we knew it we were in the studio, listening to the Kinks’ ‘Afternoon Tea’ and testing microphone levels. A couple of links later and we were being interviewed as Afternoon Tea’s first ever guests. We began with a quick explanation of the documentary and of course, the tuk tuks, before dipping into the history of tea.

As Monday was the first day of ‘Fair Trade Fortnight’, Paul quizzed us about Fair Trade: what it was, and how it was incorporated into our documentary. Our replies included the point that Fair Trade isn’t a charity, but a partnership for fair prices and explaining the pioneering work of the Makaibari Estate in Darjeeling, the first tea estate to ever receive fair trade certification.

After the interview Paul asked us to stay for the rest of the show and pitch in. We dutifully obliged and had lots of fun giving our feedback on Geoff’s tunes, reading out the evening schedule and finally quizzing Paul and Geoff on all things tea to see how much attention they’d really been paying. I’m happy to report that both came out with flying colours!

- Megan

Anyone with a spare couple of hours this afternoon can catch the Tracing Tea team on Radio 209 Cambridge Community Radio, on the ‘Afternoon Tea’ show. We’ll be starting Fairtrade fortnight by introducing the presenters to some of our weird and wonderful teas, explaining the principles of fair trade, and talking about the documentary more generally.

Listen to us on FM 105, or over the internet at the link below,

http://www.209radio.co.uk/

Enjoy!

Cath

Last week’s announcement of the decision to eject US troops from the Manas airbase in Kyrgyzstan coincides perhaps rather too neatly with the promise of $2.15 billion in loans and aid from Russia. Although President Bukiyev disputes that the two issues are linked, commentators and officials alike recognise that the current move against US interests is part of a much larger and ongoing power-play in the Central Asian republic. The severity of the circumstances is compounded by the President’s own attempt to increase his approval rating in the run up to elections, regardless of what the long-term impact may be.

The Manas airbase has been a regular source of controversy since it first opened in 2001. Just 650 miles from Kabul, Manas may be ideally placed for supplying troops to Afghanistan but its presence was always going to rile Russia, who still considers Kyrgyzstan and her Central Asian neighbours as her own backyard despite nearly 20 years of nominal independence. Calls in 2006 for the base to close were scotched when the US increased the value of its lease to $63m, but this still falls far short of the $200m the Kyrgyz government requested. The disparity in amounts provides Prime Minister Igor Chudinov with a useful justification for the latest round of pressure on Manas.

The first question we have to ask is why does Kyrgyzstan matter? It is a mountainous idyll, a land-locked country with a population of just five million. Unlike its neighbours of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it has negligible fossil fuel reserves; a series of five hydro-electric power stations fed in part by rivers from China provide the majority of energy supplies. The economy is supported by contributions from Kyrgyz working abroad, loans from the World Bank and the IMF, and, perhaps most importantly in times of worldwide economic instability, the income brought in by the US and Russian airbases. One thing, however, brings Kyrgyzstan to the attention of foreign powers: its geo-political position.

Direct Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan has been felt since 1876 when the country became part of the Russian Empire. The country was made a full republic of the USSR in 1936 and only formally declared independence from Moscow in August 1991. The Russians previously trained all of their air force pilots in Kyrgyzstan and continue to keep an airbase in Bishkek; it’s just 20 miles from Manas. Large numbers of Kyrgyz are employed in Moscow, and Russian companies dominate Kyrgyz industry; the Russian-managed Komtor gold mine single-handedly contributes 10% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP.

Whilst Eastern Europe has fallen sway to the influence of the EU, Central Asia is still a region in which Russia can have an impact. Therefore, the proposed package of $2 billion in loans and $150 million in aid is as important for the area as a whole as it is for Kyrgyzstan. The loans are to be repaid over a five year period at a rate of 3% above Libor which, although not unfeasible for a developed country, is nigh on impossible when we consider that Kyrgyzstan’s GDP (nominal) in 2007 was just $3.748 billion. Put simply, the Russians are offering a loan they’re confident cannot be repaid. What is more, a large portion of the loan is earmarked for the construction of dams controlling water supply to Uzbekistan. Once the Kyrgyz default on their loan, the dams will come under Russian control. This will require the Uzbeks to play ball with Russia as long as they want continued irrigation for cotton, their greatest agricultural export.

The other major player in Kyrgyzstan is, of course, the US. The Manas airbase is home to 1000 military personnel and serves as the primary hub for air operations in Afghanistan. With the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, the US has a single-point of military focus: Central Asia. Success in Afghanistan, the prestige which would come from succeeding where the British and Russians have historically failed, and the subsequent reconstruction programme required for future stability will all depend on a reliable supply route for men, munitions and other goods. Whilst relations with Iran and Pakistan are a little less than rosy, Kyrgyzstan is the most convenient and stable of the alternatives.

The US also runs a 160-man embassy in Kyrgyzstan – a huge number of representatives considering the size of the population. Across Central Asia the US is running a beneficial hearts and minds campaign through grass-roots education and development projects to counter-balance the influence of Russia, particularly when it comes to the control of gas and oil. While Gazprom has to date dictated the supplies of Central Asian gas to Europe through its Caspian Sea pipelines, the US is now backing the EU’s proposal to build the $10.19 billion Nabucco pipeline from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, through Turkey and the Balkans to Central Europe. Permission to build the pipeline, not to mention the ability to secure its supply, depends upon convincing local governments to support Europe’s interests over those of Russia. This is no mean feat.

In the short-term there are two likely outcomes to the dispute over Manas: the Americans will be forced to leave Kyrgyzstan or, more likely, the Kyrgyz government will use the threat as a bargaining chip to secure higher rent on the base. The reprieve will no doubt come at the 11th hour to force the best deal and to imply to the rest of the world that, however it may seem, Kyrgyzstan’s political hands are not tied by economic necessity. To retain a level of independence, the Kyrgyz government needs to balance the influence of competing foreign powers within their territory; no one party can be allowed to exert sole control or Kyrgyzstan will be reduced to the role of a pawn in far-reaching games.

In the longer-term, creating equilibrium among foreign powers will enable the Kyrgyz government to capitalise on external contributions to infrastructure, such as the American University and library and teaching programmes, allowing the country to stabilise and develop to a point where it is no longer entirely dependent on foreign aid. Turkish and Kazakh banks are already investing heavily in Kyrgyzstan, working with Kyrgyz partners to increase the number of branches and the amount of money on deposit. If this kind of growth can be maintained, Kyrgyzstan may well be able to position itself as the financial centre of Central Asia; its central location, the co-existence of black and white economies, and the relative stability of the financial system all count in the country’s favour, potentially earning it the moniker of the Switzerland of the east. Only once Kyrgyzstan has broken free from financial reliance on others can the country and its people decide upon and begin to pursue their own political, economic and social agendas.

Sophie and Max

If the words I write today are a little less than elegant, my sincere apologies. I have just spent an hour constructing perfect prose only for the laptop to be attacked by the cat. Single-handedly and in a matter of seconds she has deleted everything.

Anyway, let’s re-start today’s topic: Education. Tracing Tea generates a seemingly infinite amount of material in the form of photos, footage, maps, research, interviews and articles. One of the greatest challenges to date has been finding ways to process all this information so that it can be put to good use in education as well as for entertainment purposes. Back in August last year we were fortunate enough to be given an introduction of the Krause Center of Innovation (KCI), so I thought I’d tell you a bit about our collaboration.

KCI was established in California a decade ago with the aim of improving the quality of education by encouraging innovation in teaching methods. Much of what they do focuses on training teachers to integrate technology into their lessons, making classes more engaging for students and also ensuring that they are equipped with the skills required to participate fully in the workforce of tomorrow. KCI also works to connect teachers and their classes so that they can share ideas and expertise, bringing benefit to all.

Two of KCI’s leading teachers, Tom Sayer and Gayle Britt, have been using photos, footage, audio material and blogs generated by Tracing Tea as part of their multi-media approach to teaching History and Social Studies (a broad humanities course taught in US schools). Tom’s 7th grade class has produced mini documentaries and other visual projects, participated in video conferencing with Tracing Tea in the field, sent and received video greetings with a school in Lahore, Pakistan and are looking forward to communicating by email and letter with new friends along the Tracing Tea route. We have already been able to affect introductions with schools in India, Pakistan and Central Asia and increasing the scope of this part of the project is a priority for Tracing Tea along the rest of the route. It enables us to share some of the amazing cultural encounters we experience and also to strengthen the relationships we have the opportunity to form with our global neighbours and their communities.

Last week Tracing Tea attended KCI’s 10th birthday celebrations, meeting visionary founders Bill and Gay Krause as well as hundreds of others who support the foundation’s work and are passionate about education. We were able to present a flag and letter from Kyrgyz Minister Mamashov congratulating KCI and Tracing Tea on our efforts to build bridges between communities through education. The evening concluded with a presentation of a giant cheque to help support KCI’s ongoing work and all of the guests went home excited carrying Tracing Tea goodie bags. We hope that they’ll enjoy the tea and remember the event for many months to come.

 Given that I’ve spent the last seven months working on a documentary about tea, perhaps this is not the smartest thing to admit, but, I’m not a huge tea drinker.

Sure I dabble in some white silver tips if my skin is feeling particularly bedraggled, and I won’t say no to several cups worth of sencha when trying to help my body digest the bucket loads of salt that encompass my favourite Chinese food, but tea as a daily staple, no not really. However, this has all changed.

This weekend I’ve been struck by that annual British Nationwide event,no not the nomination of our Eurovision contestant, but the Winter flu. Unfortunately my Sister was staying for the weekend, so as I packed her off to go to the local Museum she asked me if I’d like anything – a cup of tea perhaps?

For the first time in my life I craved tea. There was something wonderfully soothing about it – the mix of tea and milk caressing an angrily croaky throat, the flavonoid antioxidants and theanine providing my white blood cells with much needed allies in their flu fight and enough caffeine to give me the energy I required to trudge downstairs to get some cookies from the kitchen cupboard.

The flu may be on the way out but I don’t think my tea craving will be. I’ve been converted.

- Megan

It is often said that alcohol loosens tongues and never has that been more true than in the case of a charming drunk I encountered last week in Napa. In the bar at the Calistoga Brewery Max and I encountered a very excitable Lucas and his girlfriend Alisa. Lucas was on his 5th (or possibly 10th) beer of the evening, was transfixed by his bodily functions and determined to embarass his sober date.
Anyway, when we began to talk about Tracing Tea, Lucas piped up that his name was actually Teagarden. Alisa wore a look of daggers. Had the floor opened up and swallowed her (or even better him) she would not have been more pleased. But Lucas was adamant. After a great deal of hand waving, giggles and narrowly avoiding falling off the bar stool, he managed to pull his driving license from his pocket.
To our delight, and the shock and horror of Alisa, Lucas’ name is infact Lucas Teagarden Dexter – a fact he had never previously disclosed to his girlfriend or anyone else. Sometime in the mid 1970s his parents, whom he described as Californian hippies, had registered their baby son’s name as Lucas Teagarden. They were’nt celebrities and the child in question has yet to change his name by deed poll. He may be more of a beer drinker than the tea connoisseur his name suggests, but either way we raised our glasses to a man called Teagarden and the travels of Tracing Tea.