SLV Hemp Project

Hemp is the Future:

Ever since the forward thinking voters in our state thought to give farmers and citizens the legal right to once again cultivate the non-drug, industrial hemp Cannabis species, we have been trying to figure out a way to get involved. As stewards of this planet and this special protected spot in the Valley, we have been talking about supporting the Hemp future. And as an organization -- as a center for the new agriculture and evolving eco-spirituality -- Green Desert Sanctuary is a match for the future economy that Hemp represents for all of us. Carbon negative, Hemp generally requires no support in the form of pesticides or herbicides, and only normally fertile soil. The fiber varieties can grow from 6-12 feet in height, producing massive amounts of a sustainable fiber, and the seed varieties can yield more than 1500 lbs of oil-seed per acre. The seed can be pressed to create a very nutritious oil rich in Omega's and nutrient dense, while leaving behind a "seed-cake" or meal that is very high protein.

The industrial version of hemp even provides the basis for eco-scaled forms of our modern production economy contributing raw materials to everything from paper and fiber based products like textiles to bio-plastic composite materials that are comparable to carbon-fiber or fiberglass. It can be used for creating bio-fuels and has shown great promise as a tool for phytoremediation of contaminants in everything from waste-water to the soil itself. Hemp combines with lime to make hemcrete- a superior building material which offers both structural and insulative benefits and is better in every respect than regular cement/concrete, and much much Greener!

So it has been apparent to us for a while that Hemp should be part of the future, and now we are working on a way to make it literally part of our future. We talked in the past about sending money to support people that are working to make US hemp production a reality, and now we can BE some of those people. The Colorado department of Agriculture began taking registrations on March 1 for those wanting to grow industrial hemp for this year, and we are working to figure out a way to grow hemp, as legally as possible, and as soon as possible. We've already registered our intention with the state, now we just have to find a way to actualize our vision!

So in the next week or so, we will be putting together an opportunity to help support Local hemp through a crowd-funding, slow money type project. As the state Ag folks are quick to point out, this is all (relatively speaking) brand new to everyone. One obligation of growing the hemp is committing to processing the hemp within Colorado, and it is not yet known how many, if any, processing facilities will be in existence this fall. There may not be any, so we may be working on that aspect of this project in a few months.

In the meantime, we need to get the seed in the ground, which means we need to get seed (from mysterious sources unknown, as it is still federally illegal to ship viable hemp seed across state lines) and we need to have a seed strain that can do well in our cold short growing season. Good news is that we have some good leads on a variety, which hopefully will make it safely to the farm. Even better news is that now, as recently detailed in the previous post, we have access to land, without the looming threat of bank mortgages or absentee landlords. Land which we can feel comfortable using to grow hemp. We just need some infrastructure, in terms of water resources, probably a large hoop house, that kind of thing.

Which is where you come in!

We'll be calling on you to help spread the word in the next few days, as we finalize our start-up plan and get the crowd-funding system set up. We'll be asking you to post and repost, share with your friends and twitter out to all your peeps so that we can get maximum exposure of our effort, so that we can have the most success getting the necessary funding to take advantage of this opportunity NOW! We'll also be asking you to show that you support a greener hemp-fueled future for ourselves and our communities through your contribution. And we're working to have cute, fun, and useful thank-you's for those that care about that sort of thing.

This is your chance to support the future of hemp. 
This year it is all about learning, about contributing energy to the growing hemp revolution, about being the change we want to see in the world.

Be the change! Join the Hemp revolution and contribute to the evolution of humanity and the healing of our Mother Earth.

Crazy chasing crazy

Humanity is not only insane, but we appear to be crazy, chasing crazy around in circles. How is it possible that so many people just do not get the magnitude of our climate crisis?

I have been preaching on this for years, and mostly to deaf ears, but once again, I have to say it is vitally important that we change our selfish human ways if we plan on diverting human extinction. I can't think of a thing that matters more. More oil? Nope. That's what keeps this crazy train on the tracks straight to a Hell of biblical proportions--a living Hell on earth.

It doesn't seem to matter though, does it? As individuals, we are so blinded by our own Egos that we fail to connect to the larger Whole, let alone see the bigger picture. What's on the agenda for today? (Enter sarcasm.) More for me!! Me, me, me. Cut down all the trees. Drill for more oil and gas. We can use that leftover fracking material to de-ice our city streets and country roads. No worries about disposing of it safely (is that even possible?). Me, me, and more for me. Bigger car, bigger house. Let's go shopping. Take another vacation around the world. Use more jet fuel. Keep on polluting. It's no one's problem, is it? Certainly it's not mine.

We've got poisoned food (GMO's), poisoned water, poisoned land, poisoned insects dying, animals going extinct, diseases brought on by global warming, we've got floods and famine, earthquakes (from fracking), fires and droughts from high global temperatures, epic storms, freezing winter temperatures, and we are still not done. Let's go shopping. We need more stuff! More stuff made out of petroleum that we can hoard away in our basements, in our garages next to our spare cars. More, more, more, for me, me and only me.

I'm willing to bet that our recent "conflicts" with Russia ultimately stem from the Global Bully, the good ol' US of A, wanting, needing, to get our dirty, greedy hands on the resources we believe are hidden in the Artic. I wonder if we will have another war? World domination for total control of all resources...isn't that what being an American is all about? (Exit sarcasm and enter reality.)

How about if we skip Christmas this year and instead of celebrating some dead guy's birth, let's celebrate our planet Earth, our true savior, because if we don't get our shit together fast, all of these "festivities," focused around consumerism, will be for naught as our planet dies and humanity goes with it.

As many know, (or not), my partner and I decided a few years ago not to celebrate Christmas anymore. Not being Christian, and being anti-consumerists, it seemed like a logical choice. We figured we could do a little bit to help save the planet by not participating in buying senseless gifts, thereby not contributing to more "resources" being taken from our beloved planet for cheap plastic crap, or whatever other holiday specific trinkets are being sold to the public.

No. We no longer participate in American Consumerist Holidays, and instead focus on how we can do our part to help heal our Mother Earth. Is anyone listening out there? Sadly, I think not.

Here's an article that will make you think as you gear up for the last minute shopping insanity:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/20463-the-arctic-is-the-first-and-possibly-last-line-of-defense-against-a-climate-transition-to-an-uninhabitable-earth

And a must see for the holiday season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZjsJdokC0s

Happy Holidays NSA peeps!

PS: the cold makes me cranky.