Wading in The Cannabis Foundation Humble beginnings and learning about our environmental and human goals for cannabis cultivation. It is more than just a crop.
Once upon a time in a land far, far away…
Well, not that.
This is a story…
No, not that either.
It all started this way. Three friends find unexpected magic in the peaks and basins of the Uttarakhand Mountains. These friends are Jaspreet Singh, Vivek Singh, and Vishal Vivek (also known as me).
We used to frequent the mysterious villages of Uttarakhand more and more. During one of these visits, we noticed something strange. There were no men around.
On further investigation, we learned that most of the men in the villages of Uttarakhand have migrated to the cities in search of work. With no alternative financial source, the women had to wait and see if the men would return with a way to eat.
This was a heartbreaking reality check for us. And we were stubborn to fix things.
One of the weaknesses of Uttarakhand’s terrain is how unsuitable it is for agriculture. Well, not cultivable for most crops.
Hemp is one of the few crops that can survive without rich, nutritious soil. It can also survive in colder climates. But there is still a hitch. It wasn’t until 2017. It wasn’t legal to grow hemp in Uttarakhand. We started our efforts shortly after legalization.
Raising awareness about the wondrous crop
chopsticks It is an old crop that many have forgotten. So, the huge challenge for us, once hemp was declared legal, was getting farmers to grow it.
There are many negative opinions about cannabis cultivation. Without willing growers, the cannabis economy cannot function. So debunking all these myths was the first order of business.
We spoke to countless farmers in Uttarakhand. We educate them about the advantages of cannabis, both environmental and financial.
The Hemp Foundation has worked hard to reassure farmers that cannabis has indeed been legalized in the country. Next, we taught farmers how they can apply for licenses and fill out the paperwork.
But just explaining the facts without giving them the resources is not productive. Proper training was essential. So we empower farmers with training to acquire, grow and sell industrial hemp.
An important criterion for cannabis cultivation was to maintain a THC concentration of less than 0.3%. This was one of the main teaching points. We have taught farmers how to identify viable seeds and how to process the different parts of the cannabis plant.
It was rewarding to see that what we said was well received by the farmers. More and more people are starting to grow hemp.
Getting work done without men
Our main priority was to employ women as major players in the farming process. As I mentioned before, the guys had already migrated. So it made no sense to work with the women remaining in the villages.
Hemp Foundation organizes workshops to train and empower women. They learn how they can benefit from cannabis and vice versa.
We teach the women of the village the skills of cannabis cultivation and marketing. Creating financial opportunity for women is likely to increase their position in the social ladder. And that’s exactly what happened.
Poverty levels decreased in families with working women.
The Hemp Foundation strongly encourages self-help groups focused on women. We connect groups with income generating activities to keep women paid. for us textile weavers Mostly women.
Bring back those who left
We thought it was unacceptable for people to have to leave their homes. We needed to reverse migration patterns and resettle the spooky ghost villages in Uttarakhand.
Hemp was the obvious solution.
Hemp can grow in infertile land. This was in abundance in Uttarakhand. Moreover, hemp can also rejuvenate the soil and replenish biodiversity.
With the growing popularity of cannabis cultivation, so did the economic opportunities. This incited many peasants to return to their homeland and revive the abandoned villages.
This is how hemp benefits the environment
The benefits of reverse migration are manifold. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of abandoned land were used again.
Without cultivation, the soil becomes sterile and prone to erosion. One of the dangers of unhealthy soils in mountainous regions is the risk of mudslides. The revival of cannabis has reduced these risks.
Hemp is also an incredibly giving crop. By farming, it restores biodiversity to the land. You might ask, “Wouldn’t any crop do that?” Maybe, but no one does it like hemp.
Hemp does not need chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow. It is a natural pesticide. The crop does not need a ridiculous amount of water to grow. And as a bonus, it can be planted twice a year.
Hemp is also an excellent crop to use in rotational cultivation. It naturally kills weeds, making room for other crops to grow in abundance.
Every part of the hemp crop is used. The seeds produce oil, which is a common ingredient in cosmetics and food. You can also make milk from the seeds, which is an excellent alternative to plant-based milk.
They process the stem to make tons of hemp product derivatives including fiber, paper, industrial concrete, and rope. Extracts of the leaves and roots are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, practically nothing goes to waste.
Perhaps the most interesting fact about hemp is that it is carbon negative. It takes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the input to its cultivation. Large-scale cannabis cultivation could solve the climate change crisis.
With all this in mind, we were eager to start the cannabis economy in India. We’ve known the benefits, and the world deserves to know them, too.
This is where our efforts to promote hemp as an environmentally sustainable alternative began.
Hemp products can stand in for
- plastic: This outrageous material needs no introduction. We are all aware of the fact that plastic clogs all the pores of the earth.
hemp plastic It is a great alternative to traditional plastic. Cellulose is extracted from hemp to make a plastic material. It is fast decomposing. Therefore, it is a viable alternative to the much-loved polythene bags (yes, I meant them sarcastically).
- paper: The paper industry is one of the major causes of deforestation in the world. Hemp paper is the perfect alternative to this problem.
Hemp grows much faster than trees. It also produces more pulp per hectare. Hemp paper does not require a chemical treatment like wooden paper does. And we can recycle it more times than conventional paper.
- fabric: The fast fashion industry is one of the most disruptive industries. Hemp fabric is the perfect alternative to cotton fabric.
Requires less water to produce and hemp fabric recyclable.
Knowing that cannabis may solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, he pushed us forward.
Research to improve the world’s cannabis habitat
India, following the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of Drugs, banned the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in 1985. This included the cultivation of cannabis.
The government ban halted all activities. Research on the properties of cannabis and germplasm has declined. We wanted to fix this gap.
Germplasm research is usually a study of how to grow plants with the least amount of input while getting the maximum output. Hemp had some special needs, which the Hemp Foundation began researching.
It was very important for cannabis to meet certain conditions to be allowed for sale. The permissible levels of THC vary from country to country. Our responsibility was to make sure they meet the standards.
The foundation also had to research the benefits of dwarfing plants. It is important to apply this learning correctly. This required another round of workshops and training for the farmers.
Together to reap more benefits
The great goal of the Hemp Foundation is to improve the living situation and provide livelihoods for those who need it.
The holdings of many individual farmers in Uttarakhand are one hectare or less. The harvest is not improved in such small holdings. This is where cluster farming comes in.
Smallholdings are pooled and provide resources collectively. This helps form links between small farmers. It also establishes links between farmers and local and government organizations.
With such resources, farmers will benefit from each other. Helps increase productivity and production on the farm. In the long run, this approach increases profit and facilitates cultivation.
The Hemp Foundation helps facilitate cluster farming among cannabis growers.
We realized that the world is suffocating as are the people on it. Hemp was my way of not sitting back and watching what happened.
https://hempfoundation.net/our-story/
https://hempfoundation.net/about-us/
https://hempfoundation.net/the-usages-of-every-part-of-hemp-plant/#Comfort_In_the_Leaves
