Funkenwerkstatt-obelisk.final-version1n

Obeliskas, which lies in Latgale, eastern Latvia.
Whenever the talk is about hemp, or as most
people know it - cannabis, they rather think
about the drug than the raw material. However,
hemp has a long history of being grown
and used throughout the ages – it was only
since after World War 2 and the consequent
prohibition of cannabis as a drug in the United
States that the plant became so negatively
connoted. The legal situation in Germany, for
example, is a very difficult one, since the possession
of even the smallest amount of any part
of the plant is being prosecuted by law.
In recent years however, the tides began to shift with
the widespread legalization of the product throughout
the world. While, in general, still being illegal
in Germany, the medical use of marihuana has been
allowed, but only if the THC-level of the product
lies below 0.2 percent. The growing of hemp for industrial
use is allowed, but very difficult to realize
since agriculturalists are obligated to get a license
– which is by no means easy to obtain. In Latvia,
the situation is a similar one – cannabis with THC
is being prosecuted by the law, but it is possible to
grow non-THC plant varieties, as long as agriculturalists
have a license and the plants are being grown
on a field and not indoors or in a greenhouse.
The shed with useful machines for harvesting.
Especially in the light of the current development of our planet, with climate change being an issue that affects
all of us, the world’s population growing from day to day and consuming a lot of resources, mostly non-renewable
and non-degradable, it is of utmost importance to focus on renewable and sustainable materials. Luckily,
part of the answer is in plain sight: the forbidden hemp plant, which has been unjustly criminalized, is beginning
to grow back into focus.
Hemp has many different facets, it can be used for building, for clothes, for food and even as medicine. To find
out more about the benefits of the plant, we decided to venture on a journey to Obeliskas, a tiny village in the
heart of Latvia, where we met Andris and Deborah, who gave us insights into their hemp farm. There they
produce lots of different hemp-related products and run a school that has the goal to educate people about the
benefits of hemp.

In Obeliskas, which lies in the eastern part of Latvia in the Latgale region, Andris and Deborah made their
dream of running a hemp farm come true. It has already been three years since the family moved from London
to Latvia to transform a rundown farm into something truly special. The beginning posed challenges – from
getting stuck in the middle of a muddy road on their first day in Latvia, to rebuilding the old houses and the
infrastructure to make the place livable – it was lots of hard work until the point where the hemp farm project
began to run smoothly.
Hemp field in early july.
Andris and Deborah founded the hemp
farm without much in-depth knowledge
or educational background about hemp
as a material. Thus, they had to find out
all the facts about growing conditions,
products and production by themselves,
sometimes even by trial-and-error.
When talking with us about the process
of gathering information on growing
hemp, Andris told us: “there was a lot of
YouTube involved. Also, we learned a lot
out of reading. We expected it would be
a little easier to get detailed information,
for example about when to plant, which
seeds to choose… Somehow, I put in my
head that it would be very easy to get the information, but it’s not. We did a lot of mistakes, but everything is
possible and seeing how this is developing, and still getting more and more interesting, being involved in all
of this as a family – it’s really amazing.” Andris and Deborah kept finding out more, and with time, became
experts themselves. They told us a lot about the variety of benefits you can get out of the hemp plant. While
the plant, from an agricultural perspective, is in general great for the soil it grows on, there is, for instance, the
possibility of making a variety of everyday-products out of hemp, such as paper or other materials. Out of the
hemp fibers ropes, cloth, and clothes are being made, at the same time the fibers can be used for building insulation
in the form of hempcrete, hemp is even being used in the car industry. Moreover, many parts of the plant
can be used in the kitchen. For instance, while squeezing out the oil out of the seed, one also gets the hemp
protein. Also, the hemp flower is being used for tea and even the roots are edible – and, according to Andris,
it`s great against diseases, such as stomach pains.
Some benefits of hemp.

Having learned a lot from their experiences, Andris
and Deborah decided to pass on their knowledge.
Their idea of the Obelisk Farm consists not only of
growing and producing hemp, their focus also lies on
sharing the information with other people.
Self-made oil out of hemp seeds.
On the one hand, Andris has been visiting schools to
educate the kids there about hemp and showing them
how to make their own hemp paper. “I really want to
get the stigma out, that it is not for smoking. If there
are 30 kids in a class, while being really excited about
making the paper, maybe one will really remember it
and even go to university to learn more about it and
develop the ideas.”
On the other hand, Andris and Deborah, while going
about their usual farming business during the summer
months, have also created the opportunity to visit the
farm as a tourist. They offer hemp tours, hemp workshops
and as of now, even a hemp museum is on its way. The
idea of passing on the knowledge is especially important
to Andris, who believes that, because of its sustainability,
hemp might be the rescue of the planet: “My dream, in
general, is for hemp to become so common, that the idea
of using hemp to save the planet reaches the people – the
main idea is that hemp can save the planet. People just
need to know about it. I think it will happen in our lifetime,
it’s achievable.”
This is the reason behind the interactive workshop Andris
and Deborah are offering during summer and early autumn.
They also told us about how the most important
thing is the fact, that it is hands on experience: “I think
it is very important that you don’t just tell people ‘oh you
can do this, you can do that’ and that’s it. We have the
tours, people come to our farm and they see what we do,
and then they get the opportunity to try it out themselves.
They learn how to break the straws, how to extract
the sheaves, they have a tasting of the products we are
actually making here… It’s very important that you can
feel and touch the products and experience them with all
Andris is showing us how to extract the fibre.
senses, that really facilitates the idea, what the material
actually is.”
Furthermore, they also publish hemp related YouTube videos and run their own hemp blog, which ensures the
diffusion of the information all over the globe.
In addition, Andris and Deborah both are going back to university, to broaden their knowledge even more.
While Deborah will be starting a course in media and communication, which also, in a way, will help the development
of their media appearance, Andris goes back to university to study more about food technology, to
gather more knowledge in that area.

At the same time, since Obelisk Farm is producing food already, Andris partakes in a big food exhibition of the
Baltic States every year, where all the food companies display their products. That way, even more people get to
learn about the benefits of hemp.
Andris’ and Deborah’s biggest challenge yet is the
hemp school project, which they want to be available
during the whole year, not just the warm months: “We
hope that we can make the hemp school to be available,
for it not to be seasonal… We don’t have proper
ceilings, floors and heating yet, so we dream of having
that, so we can continue throughout the winter. We
want to give people the opportunity to be able to come
here and learn about hemp all year long. In the summer
months, the hemp is growing, but in the winter,
after the summer harvest, the farm life continues. We
have to dry and clean the seeds, arranging everything
for the production. The hemp school should be going
The entry of the hemp school.
on during that time, too.”
The hemp plant is a great example of how easy it could
be to maintain sustainability in the day-to-day life of
many people. While the individual can make use of
the hemp plant on a small basis, it is clear, how good
for the planet it would be, if for example construction
firms would be using hemp for insulation, instead of
other materials.
Sadly, it seems as if it would still be a long way to the
widespread re-establishment of hemp as an everyday
material, due to most governments still being really
strict about the plant. If the process of getting the
permission to grow hemp wouldn’t be such a difficult
one, maybe more agriculturalists would be growing
hemp, increasing the possibility and accessibility of a
sustainable, natural material, that can be used in almost
every part of our lives.
This is what the inside of the hemp school´s meeting
room looks like.
It is really important to see the plant for
what it is and can be, rather than criminalizing
and prosecuting it.
So let’s hope, together with Andris and
Deborah, that the re-growth of the hemp
plant isn’t that far away in the future, and
that more people realize, how important,
and also how simple it could be to integrate
more sustainability into our everyday life.
Tabitha, Julian and Sima.
Deborah, Julian, Andris, Sima and the kids.