Hmong Hemp

Description

Genetics: Hmong Cannabis Landrace – Hemp
Sourcing: The Real Seed Company, Laos, Southeast Asia, 2023
Purpose: Fibre and seed
Latitude: 20° N
Regional Harvest: Seed to harvest = 5 to 6 months
Height: Up to c. 4 metres
Characteristics: High bast fibre
Classification: Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa var. sativa
Grow Type: Greenhouse or outdoors

A Hmong hemp landrace cultivated by Hmong villages in the highlands of Houapanh Province, Northeast Laos.

Traditional Hmong cannabis culture involves cultivating hemp for fibre, which is used in textiles, including clothing, shoes, and funeral garments.

The widespread belief among westerners that the Hmong traditionally cultivate ganja is reflective of very recent social changes among Hmong communites that have migrated south into Central Laos and North Thailand, where they find themselves in economically precarious and socially marginalized positions.

In so far as there can be said to be a Hmong drug crop, this is poppy, which some villages began cultivating in the 19th Century, mostly to answer demand from urban China and cities such as Vientiane and Bangkok.

For more information, see the recent blog post ‘Cannabis & the Hmong: Hemp vs Ganja’.