Traditional Cannabis Cultivation in Darchula District

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

Traditional Cannabis Cultivation in Darchula District, Nepal– Seed, Resin and Textiles Robert C. Clarke

ABSTRACT. The higher elevation regions of Darchula District in the northwest of Nepal provide a unique example of a basic Cannabis agricultural system whereby all three major products–seeds and resin from the female flowers as well as fiber from the stems–are extracted from the same crop. For centuries prior to the relatively recent influences of market economics and law enforcement, this simple cropping system was much more widespread throughout neighboring regions of Asia, Robert C. Clarke is Projects Manager, International Hemp Association, Postbus 75007, 1070AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands (E-mail: [email protected]). Mark and Jyoti Rose are owner operators of the Wild Fibers shops in Kathamandu and were their hosts in Nepal. Mark and the author crossed paths several times at European hemp conferences and Mark has always proven to be a font of information. Mark’s enthusiasm and knowledge of local customs proved of great value as they trekked for weeks through remote countryside. The author also extend heartfelt thanks to his partner Yan Xia whose patient understanding and smiles once again smoothed a rough passage along the hempen road. Journal of Industrial Hemp, Vol. 12(2) 2007 Available online at http://jih.haworthpress.com © 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1300/J237v12n02_03

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JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP

wherever and whenever Cannabis seed, drugs and fiber were in demand. doi:10.1300/J237v12n02_03 [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: © 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYORDS. Cannabis, charas, cropping system, fiber, hashish, hemp, Nepal, resin, seed

INTRODUCTION Cannabis hemp (bhang) is grown at upper middle altitudes (approximately 1,500-3,500 meters elevation) in several districts of western Nepal, with the majority of cultivation taking place in the more remote regions around 3,000 meters elevation (Photo 1). Darchula District occupies the far northwestern corner of Nepal and shares the Mahakali River border with Uttaranchal State in India, and the Himalayan crest border with the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the Peoples Republic of China (Map), although regular access is entirely on foot through Nepali territory. Hemp textiles (as well as seed and psychoactive resin) are produced in several other districts in western Nepal (e.g., Bajhang, Bajura, Dailekh, Jajarkot, Rolpa and Rukum). However, the higher altitude areas of upper Darchula District have long been considered the source of the highest quality Nepali hemp cloth. The aims of fieldwork in this region during October and November of 2006 were to document the indigenous Cannabis cropping, harvest, extraction and processing systems, as well as to collect representative examples of traditional textile products (see Collections Corner in this issue). By employing a simple traditional cropping system, Nepalese Cannabis farmers harvest three diverse products (seed, psychoactive resin and fiber) from a single crop (Photo 2). Seeds are the most vital product of Cannabis cultivation (and all agricultural efforts) as seeds are required to sow a subsequent crop. Hemp seeds are also the primary agricultural product of Cannabis farming and make an important contribution to the limited alpine diet. Hemp fiber is either spun into twine and rope, coarse yarn for weaving commercial market cloth and rough sacking, or finer yarn for weaving their traditional cloth used domestically for blankets, sash belts and grain storage sacks (see Collections Corner in this issue). The peeled stalks are burned as torches. Psychoactive resin (charas or

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PHOTO 1. Small settlements in the upper Darchula region are perched on steep hillsides near 3,000 meters elevation. Two Cannabis fields can be seen in the lower left quarter of the photo.

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MAP. Map of Nepal showing neighboring nations of China and India. Darchula District is represented by the darker shaded region in far western Nepal.

attar) is also collected from the mature seeded female inflorescences (ganja) by rubbing them between the palms. Seed, charas and ganja are extracted in many regions of Nepal where Cannabis grows, but the range of hemp spinning and weaving is restricted to western Nepal. The production and use of Cannabis products in India and Nepal were well documented during the 19th century by British colonial officials concerned with identifying possible sources of tax revenue. H. B. Hodgson (1855) was the first European researcher to report on the Nepali tradition of harvesting food, fiber and drugs from a single field, and the extraction of all three classes of products from one crop has not been reported from other regions. Traditional Asian hemp farmers grow separate Cannabis crops depending on their needs–either for fiber production (closely spaced and harvested prior to flowering) or for seed production (more widely spaced and harvested at maturity)–and make no effort to collect the psychoactive resin. Illicit marijuana and hashish farmers target the resin, and may keep some seed for sowing, while destroying the fibrous stalks, any surplus seed and other agricultural waste. The India Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1893-1894 (Kaplan, 1969) described the preparation of hand-rubbed charas: The female plants, having been cut in November, are spread out to dry for twenty-four hours. The people then sit around in the heat of the day, and pluck off the flower heads, which are now full of seed,

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discarding the coarser leaves. Each handful is rubbed between the palms for about ten minutes and thrown aside. In the course of time a quantity of juice accumulates on the palms, which is scraped off and rolled into balls. These are charas. Shah (1997) made a detailed study of contemporary Cannabis use in the Kumaon Region of India (across the Mahakali River from Darchula District) where the plant was also traditionally utilized for food, fiber and drug. However, field research showed that only seed and fiber were

PHOTO 2. Cleaned hemp seed and sticks of charas on a background of commercial grade hemp cloth–the three products derived from single Cannabis crops in the upper Darchula region.

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extracted from cultivated crops, and resin was collected from “wild” (more likely feral escapes from cultivation) plants–because by the close of the 20th century, it was only legal to grow Cannabis for fiber and seed, and law enforcement had pushed any remaining charas producers into extremely remote regions. Due to the increased availability of market substitutes, hemp ropes and woven fabrics had “become obsolete” and were “seldom seen” although local farmers continued to grow Cannabis crops and harvest seeds for food (Shah, 1997). Although it is also illegal to produce charas in Nepal, the laws are not now (and may never have been) enforced in the remote upper Darchula region. Farmers in the more remote areas of Kumaon may also still rub charas from their ripe seed crops when out of sight from law enforcement, and may even continue to weave hemp cloth on a very limited scale. CROP CYCLE Cannabis crops share terraced fields with other “grain” crops (e.g., wheat, maize and amaranth); field crops (e.g., bitter melon, squashes, chilies, tomatoes, mustard and other hardy greens); root crops (e.g., potatoes, turnips and radishes) and tree fruits (e.g., apples, pears and plums). Giant nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) grows wild at higher altitudes (usually above the range for cultivated Cannabis) and sisal (Agave) grows at lower altitudes (usually below the range for cultivated Cannabis) as a feral escape from border and erosion control plantings. Nettle fiber is used for all the same purposes as hemp, while sisal fiber is used solely for cordage. Cannabis is the only cultivated fiber plant in Darchula District; and only cultivated Cannabis crops are used for spinning and weaving. Most households usually grow one to several relatively small Cannabis fields of 10-200 square meters. Fields are sown at high density to encourage the plants to grow tall, straight and without branches so the stalks will be suitable for fiber extraction (Photo 3). Manure is added to the fields and they are plowed thoroughly to make the soil as fine and aerated as possible. Seed is broadcast sown when the soil has warmed sufficiently, some time in late May through early July. Additional fertilizer may be added when the seed is sown, but no nutrients are added after the seeds germinate, and the crop is not irrigated, as it receives sufficient water from localized spring rainfall and the summer monsoons. Occasionally crops are also sown at wider spacing, which requires less seed and encourages the plants to branch (Photo 4). Many plants

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PHOTO 3. Two average size, densely sown hemp fields of 1.5-2.0 meter tall plants ripen in the autumn sun.

also grow spontaneously in winter wheat, amaranth and potato fields that are sown in rotation in fields following the Cannabis harvest, or along trails where seeds dropped when the harvest was carried home. These incidental sowings germinate during the autumn or early spring and although the young plants are often stunted or nibbled by livestock, many grow to 3.0-5.0 meters in height and become well-branched before they are harvested the following autumn. In both cases, the flowers are harvested for seed and/or resin, but the thick bark and branches make the fiber unsuitable for spinning yarn and weaving. Mature plants are harvested in October through early December, commencing a few weeks after the last monsoon rains. Plants are harvested in the morning after the dew evaporates, beginning with the larger spontaneously growing plants. Flowering branches are cut from the plants and rubbed to collect the resin (charas) before they are dried in the sun and the seeds threshed out. Once the spontaneous plants are harvested the farmers begin to cut the ripe fields sown for fiber production (Photos 3-6). Fields sown earlier in the spring usually result in fewer female plants (15-30 per square meter) of greater height (2.0-3.0

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PHOTO 4. Two sowing strategies for differing Cannabis products. The left half of the field was sown at high density for seed, resin and fiber extraction, and the unbranched plants have only one large terminal seeded inflorescence. The right half of the field was sown at much lower density for only seed and resin extraction, and the plants have developed seeded inflorescences along each branch. Notice the sparse male hemp plant poking up just right of center. Bright red grain amaranth flowers in the foreground.

meters) (Photo 6); while crops sown later usually produce denser stands (40-80/square meter) of shorter plants (1.0-2.0 meters) (Photo 3). Close plant spacing not only promotes the growth of long straight stalks, but also results in a more uniform crop of large single inflorescences that are easier to handle at harvest (Photo 5). Plants intended for fiber use are harvested by pulling them from the ground and then slicing off the roots with a sickle. Bundles of 100-300 plants are carried back to the house (Photo 6) and laid in the sunlight to warm. RESIN COLLECTION AND USAGE Throughout the afternoon entire families will sit and collect charas by first tearing the large leaves from the floral clusters and then strip-

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PHOTO 5. Ripe female inflorescence filled with ripe seeds and covered with resin glands. Notice the uniformity of the crop in the background.

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PHOTO 6. A woman returns to her village with a daily harvest of plants destined for charas, fiber and seed extraction. The hemp plants in the background are 2.5-3.5 meters in height and have larger diameter stalks than the more closely sown fields in Photo 3.

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ping the floral clusters from the stalk. The flowers are aggressively rubbed between the hands so that the psychoactive resin (as well as extraneous dust, plant juice, leaf fragments and insect parts) adhere to the palms and fingers (Photo 7). One person can collect from five to ten grams of potent higher quality charas in a day, but more commonly 20-30 grams of lower quality charas containing more extraneous plant juices and tissues is rubbed each day. Rubbing Cannabis flowers by hand is very simple and this extraction technique was likely the first used by ancient agricultural societies to collect resin. Hand-rubbed charas is also produced in the Malana and Manali regions of Kulu District of the Indian Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, northwest of Uttaranchal State, but it is presently uncommon outside the Himalayan foothill region. Worldwide, the majority of charas (hashish) is produced by first drying the female plants, crushing the seeded flowers and then using sieves to isolate the resin glands (Clarke, 1998). (See Hamayun and Shinwari (2004) for a report on the traditional use of this technique in Pakistan.) Charas is most often smoked in a conical clay pipe called a chillum, but may also be infused into hot milk and drunk as bhang. Charas is only rarely consumed by farmers, who rely on it for important income, and most often choose to sell whatever they produce. SEED PRODUCTION AND USAGE Farmers make no effort to grow seedless ganja flowers and do not remove male (staminate) plants from the fields. Male plants begin shedding pollen in late August and a few may still be flowering at harvest time (Photo 4) when the female inflorescences are ripe with seed (Photo 5). Hemp seeds (actually achene fruits with a hard shell and a single seed inside) are generally brownish in color with darker brown stripes and range in length from 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters. However, the patterned surface is usually rubbed off during threshing and cleaned seeds are light brownish-grey in color (Photo 2). Hemp seeds are a nutritionally valuable source of protein and essential fatty acids (EFAs) and are either eaten whole, pressed to produce cooking or lighting oil, or parched (roasted or toasted) and finely ground (milled) into flour added to cooked dishes. Hemp seeds are eaten raw or parched, and a tasty trail snack is made by mixing a handful of parched hemp seeds into a majority of popped amaranth grains, and adding just enough honey to make the grains stick together. Hemp seeds

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PHOTO 7. A Nepali woman collecting hand-rubbed charas. The warm inflorescences are rubbed and kneaded with a vigorous circular motion to extract the sticky resin which adheres to the palms.

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are the key ingredient of the popular Nepali (and Indian) condiment called bhang chortney (chutney) made fresh daily to accompany the standard fare of beans and rice (dhal bhat). Basic bhang chortney is made by combining the following ingredients in approximately these proportions: 200 grams of parched hemp seeds, six cloves of garlic, one medium-sized onion, 50 grams of ginger root, six hot chilies, a teaspoon of turmeric powder, a small amount of vegetable oil and/or a little water, and a large pinch of salt. The parched hemp seeds are first crushed on a slate stone slab using a flattened oval river cobble as a pestle. The chopped garlic, onion, ginger and chilies, along with the spices are slowly added as the ingredients are gradually mashed into a smooth paste. Hemp seeds in one form or another are eaten regularly throughout the year. PROCESSING STALKS, FIBER AND YARN The closely spaced fiber fields exhibit little edge effect and nearly all of the stalks are slender and straight. At harvest, the stalks range from 4-15 millimeters in diameter at the base, with the taller plants being of larger diameter. Smaller diameter stalks are preferred for spinning finer yarn for weaving. Very large and branched stalks can be used only for making rough cordage and are often simply stripped of their bark when still fresh and green. After the charas and seeded inflorescences have been removed, stalks destined for the highest quality weaving are sorted by diameter (Photo 8), dried, bundled and stored until the harvest is completed and hemp processing can begin. The dried stalks are soaked in streams or ponds for seven or eight days to loosen the bark from the woody stalk, or when the evening dew is sufficiently heavy, stalks may be field retted. After retting, the bark is peeled by hand and the bark strips are hung to dry. In the upper Darchula region, the retted stalks are sometimes dried, and then beaten with wooden flails to break the woody pith into small pieces and release the fiber. The breaking of dried stalks is more characteristic of traditional European hemp fiber extraction and has not been reported from other Asian hemp producing regions. Bundles of hemp bark strips are boiled in water for about an hour, cooled, rinsed in flowing water, beaten on streamside rocks and dried. The dry strips are beaten against a rock with a wooden mallet, or pounded in a wooden mortar and pestle, and rinsed again. The bark strips are repeatedly beaten, rinsed and dried until they are soft enough

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PHOTO 8. Once the charas has been collected, the stems are sorted by length before they are spread in the sun to dry.

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to be split, joined and spun into yarn. The processes of softening and bleaching hemp bark are still much the same as the mid 19th century. According to Hodgson (cited in Royle, 1855): After the plants have been cut off at the ground, they must be placed in the sun for 8-10 days, or until they be dried sufficiently. They must then be steeped in water [retted] for three days, and on the fourth day the plants must be taken out of the water and peeled. The peelings are to be washed and placed in the sun; and when quite dried, they are ready for manipulation. They are then to be torn into thin threads with the nails of the hands; next twisted with a spinning wheel (tikuli), and when the threads are thus prepared, they are to be boiled with ashes of wood and water in a pot, for four hours, and to be washed again for the purpose of whitening. This is the way of preparing bhangela [sic] thread, out of which blankets are woven. Suzi Dunsmore (1993) recorded the method of fiber extraction in a Tamang community near Kathmandu which also echoes Hodgson’s earlier report: The hemp, nena in Tamang, is harvested in August. After cutting, the stems are left to dry for 3-5 days before being retted in either still or running water for one or two days. The fibrous portion is teased out with the teeth, like allo (nettle) and then twisted and pulled clear. This material is sun-dried for two to three days and then beaten with a long paddle, which would free and soften the fiber. After spinning, the thread is boiled with wood ash and water for half an hour, washed until free of ash, and dried again. Retting is a microbial process and duration varies considerably depending on water and air temperature, warmer conditions accelerating retting and cooler conditions slowing the process. Women are careful to not over bleach the yarn, as the strongly alkaline wood ash also weakens the fibers and makes the yarn difficult to spin and weave. SPINNING TWINE AND ROPE CORDAGE Cordage is most often twisted from dried unprocessed bark strips that are sometimes peeled from green plants. Short pieces of twine are often

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spun as needed by overlapping the bark strips, joining them with a few twists, and then securing the join with extra twists by rubbing the added strip along the calf of the leg. However, twine is most commonly spun with a simple cordage spindle fashioned from two sticks of equal diameter and unequal length (one being 50% longer than the other). The shorter stick is tied at its midpoint; at right angles to the longer stick half its length from one end, to form a cross. The base of the first piece of bark used to start the twine is tied to the crossover point of the spindle and inserted into a notch cut into one end of the shorter cross stick. The base of the second strip is twisted together with the tip of the first bark strip and the join is held in the left hand. The spindle is held in the right hand by the longer end and rotated rapidly around the long axis (Photo 9) so that the bark strips and the join become tightly twisted. When sufficiently twisted, the cordage is detached from the notch in the spindle arm and wrapped around the crossover, leaving about a 20-30 centimeter tip of the previously added bark strip protruding. The base of the next strip is twisted onto the tip of the previous one and the process is repeated until the crossover of the spindle becomes filled with twine, at which time the twine is uncoiled from the spindle and rolled into balls. Smaller diameter twine can later be laid into larger rope or made into a variety of other utilitarian items. (See the Collections Corner in this issue for products made from hemp cordage.) SPINNING YARN FOR WEAVING Softened hemp bark strips are split one by one into narrow strips with the teeth or fingernails. A bundle of parallel bark strips, organized such that all the large ends are oriented in the same direction, is tucked into the sash belt (dola) around a woman’s waist such that one strip of bark at a time can be pulled out by its basal end. The base of each strip is twisted together with the tip of the preceding strip already spun into the lengthening yarn. A simple weighted spindle is fashioned by impaling a small potato with a thin pointed stick approximately 30 centimeters long. The newly added bark strip is twisted by tying a half hitch around the tip of the spindle shaft and then spinning the weight (potato) by rolling the spindle shaft along the thigh. When the newly added bark strip is sufficiently twisted the spindle is stopped, the half hitch untied, the newly twisted bark strand wound onto the spindle shaft, and the half hitch retied. Women often accomplish this coordinated task while walking on steep and narrow mountain trails.

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PHOTO 9. Men twist stout hemp twine from unprocessed bark strips using a cross-shaped spindle.

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Additional twist can be added to the yarn later with either a spindle or a simple spinning wheel (tikuli) (Photo 10). A woman must join and spin hemp bark strips intensively for about three weeks to produce enough yarn for one warp length (tan) of fine cloth; which then requires an additional three to six days to weave. Larger diameter yarn requires much less time to spin and the weaving of coarser grades of cloth is also quicker. Spinning and weaving are usually completed by March, when the warming spring weather summons farmers back outdoors to graze their flocks and till their fields. Hemp yarn is also sold to urban carpet weavers, although in Darchula District the majority of yarn is locally woven into cloth. The majority of carpet yarn comes from either the Bajhang/Bajura region, and is usually bleached white; or from the Rokum/Rolpa region, which is commonly less consistent and of a natural greenish brown color. Commercial carpet yarn is wound into small balls of a few hundred grams or coiled into large figure-of-eight hanks weighing up to 10 kilograms (Rose, 2006). PHOTO 10. A Nepali woman using a spinning wheel (tikuli) to add twist to the joined bark strips in the basket. A bundle of washed, dried, mechanically softened and split hemp bark strips lies to her left. Notice the natural brownish green color of the unbleached bark strips and yarn.

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LAYING THE WARP The warp (tensioned set of yarns attached to the loom) yarns are stretched between two wooden stakes pounded into the ground approximately 1.9-2.2 meters apart. The warp yarn is walked in a circuit and stretched back and forth around the wooden stakes to form a continuous looped coil typically 3.5-4.0 meters in circumference. A third peg may be placed between the first two warping stakes, approximately 30 centimeters from either one, to form the shed (crossover point for each pair of warp yarns) for the string heddle (set of cords used to separate the warp threads and make a path for the shuttle). The warp yarns may be crossed over each other between the closer pair of stakes, alternating the orientation at one angle and then the other at each pass of the warp yarn, or on each pass the warp yarn is simply wrapped once around the middle stake. If the cloth is to have dyed warp stripes, they will be arranged when the warp is laid. LOOMS AND WEAVING Women weavers sit on the ground and operate a very simple bodytension, back strap loom. The circular warp is stretched between the breast beam attached to the weaver’s waist by a strap around her lower back, and the warp beam anchored to a wooden peg driven in the ground about 2.5 meters away. The over and under orientation is preserved by three parallel shed sticks that are threaded through the warp. The shed (gap through which the shuttle passes) is spread apart by turning a wooden sword beater fitted with a narrow metal edge sideways. A string heddle is tied to every other thread in the lower warp, so that when the heddle is lifted it pulls the lower threads above the upper threads to form the counter shed where the shuttle will travel on every other pass. The weft yarn (horizontal thread woven through the warp yarns) is wrapped lengthwise between the notches at either end of a 45-60 centimeter long straight stick, which serves as a simple shuttle to pass the warp yarn through the shed or counter shed. After the shuttle passes the weaver pulls weft yarn straight and fixes it in place between the warp yarns by inserting the wooden sword beater through the shed (or counter shed); and holding the beater with both hands she draws the beater briskly towards the warp beam attached in front of her waist.

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QUALITIES AND USES OF HEMP CLOTH Although inferior quality coarse hemp cloth may be woven in any of the hemp weaving regions, the quality of hemp cloth generally improves the farther north and west it originates–Jajarkot, Rukum and Rolpa Districts producing the coarsest cloth; Bajhang and Bajura Districts to the northwest producing a finer cloth and Darchula District in the far northwest producing the finest cloth. In all of these regions the cloth woven from one warp ranges in length from 3.5-4.0 meters, and in width from 28-50 centimeters. In general, the finer and tighter-woven cloth used in the household is narrower than the rough coarse cloth of commerce. Finer cloth strips are commonly used to sew draping blankets (bhangara), sash belts (dola) or grain sacks (bura). Sack cloth is usually unpatterned, while cloth sewn into blankets is most often warpstriped and sashes may also be decorated with colorful weft-faced woven or appliquéd stripes (see Collections Corner in this issue). ECONOMIC VALUE OF VARIOUS PRODUCTS Hodgson (cited in Royle, 1855) observed that Cannabis cultivation, “is described to be the most profitable of any, as the churrus [charas] and ganja, . . . are said themselves to pay for the expenses of culture.” Bhatt (1977) in his survey of the economic plants of Nepal, reported that a large amount of land in the central, western and far western regions had been devoted to growing Cannabis, and that the recent ban on its cultivation had caused hardship for many village communities. Hemp seeds were valued as food, the fiber was used for cordage and to weave cloth worn by poorer people, and the charas provided a source of psychological relief as well as revenue. Presently, Cannabis seed, textiles, and resin remain especially important to the local economy as they are among the precious few commodities that farmers can produce and sell for cash. Rubbing charas represents considerably less labor than processing, spinning and weaving hemp fiber, and charas can be collected from large, branched plants that are unsuitable for spinning yarn for weaving. Charas also earns as much or more revenue than textiles or seed. In 1996, seeds cost about US$0.06-0.10 per kilogram in the mountains, US$0.16-0.18 per kilogram in the rural villages and US$0.40 per kilogram in Kathmandu (Rose, 1998). Presently, seeds (Photo 2) sell for US$0.55-0.85 per kilogram in the countryside.

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A healthy average size hemp field of 100 square meters will produce approximately two warp length rolls of cloth and some additional cordage. Depending on the quality of the spinning and weaving, one roll of cloth will sell in the local community for approximately US$6-10. Rough cloth (average four to five yarns per centimeter) such as that woven in Jajarkot, Rolpa and Rukum districts sells in the countryside for approximately US$6.60 for a 35-40 centimeter wide roll approximately 3.5 meters in length. Finer cloth of higher yarn count (up to 18 yarns per centimeter) and narrower width (Photo 2) can sell for up to US$10 per roll in Darchula District. Fine smooth yarn of the best quality costs about US$3 per kilogram. In addition, the same 100 square meter Cannabis field can yield up to 200 grams of charas (Photo 2) which sells for approximately US$28, as well as about ten kilograms of seed worth a minimum of US$0.55 per kilogram. So, the total economic benefit from a well grown and efficiently harvested and extracted 100 square meter crop ranges between US$25-40, which is roughly equivalent to US$2,500-4,000 per hectare. Even if small scale productivity cannot be accurately extrapolated to larger areas, this still represents a relatively high agricultural return on little capital investment and considerable hand labor. In 2004, American maize farmers grossed a maximum of US$2,000 per hectare, and their overhead for agricultural inputs and fuel was very high (Source: USDA). The upper Darchula region exports approximately 3,000 rolls of hemp cloth annually to Kathmandu and Pokhara. If an equal quantity of hemp cloth remains within the region for domestic use, then annual production is closer to 6,000 rolls. This accounts for an estimated 30 hectares of cultivated land, and represents the work of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 households. Assuming that not all of the households growing Cannabis harvest their hemp fiber and weave cloth, and based on the projected area of hemp/charas/seed cultivation, the annual production of cultivated charas is conservatively estimated to exceed 500 kilograms and may be much higher. When charas collected from feral plants is included, production in the upper Darchula region may exceed one metric ton. DISCUSSION The multiple uses of Cannabis were likely well known in many regions across Asia long before the advent of agriculture, but cultivation

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was required to produce suitable crops for spinning and weaving fine yarns. Nepali farmers residing at high elevations meet their subsistence requirements for diverse agricultural products by utilizing a simple cropping strategy likely employed for millennia to successfully grow Cannabis crops. As Cannabis gained importance in early subsistence agriculture, farmers developed cropping systems to best exploit all three valuable raw materials–seed, resin and fiber. Cultivated hemp crops offered a larger and more convenient supply of higher quality seed, fiber and resin; but also required considerably more labor than foraging for wild plants. During the initial spread of Eurasian agriculture, hemp was a very early (possibly even the first) cultivated fiber source; and contemporary Nepali hemp weavers utilize only cultivated hemp crops for all but the crudest cordage. The use of a single Cannabis crop to produce seed, fiber and resin is presently limited to the mountainous regions of western Nepal. However, this cropping strategy may have been much more common in the not so distant past, when subsistence agriculture was the norm and hemp’s various economic products could be freely extracted and traded. The natural environment of the upper Darchula region shares much in common with the relict hemp cultures in other regions of Asia–mountainous terrain at elevations between 1,500 and 3,500 meters with a monsoon or continental climate providing adequate summer precipitation to support a Cannabis crop. Hemp weaving traditions are also most commonly preserved among members of the Tibeto-Burman language group (e.g., Magar, Tamang and Gurung in Nepal) living in remote regions far from road heads and markets, and practicing primarily subsistence agriculture in a barter economy. All of these factors combine to produce conditions favorable for the cultivation of Cannabis. As transportation infrastructure improves, merchants begin to buy local products and sell manufactured goods, and the cash economy starts to permeate the remote countryside, hempen cultural traditions steadily fade away. As recently as the middle 20th century Cannabis crops were extensively grown throughout the Himalayan region, and harvested for all three products of value, as they are today in upper Darchula District. Presently, Cannabis can be grown for all of its economically and culturally valuable products only in the most geographically and bureaucratically remote locations, insulated from both market economics and law enforcement. More modernized cultures in China, Japan and Korea, where Cannabis was once widely used, have largely lost their once active hemp traditions.

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In the face of the present-day spread of market economics, hemp is no longer the only source of fiber and food, yet traditional farmers continue to include Cannabis in their crop selections. There are increasing numbers of introduced crops that can be grown in regions of appropriate climate, either to be utilized domestically, bartered within the community or sold for export outside the region. Cannabis, by producing three locally essential and/or economically valuable products in small field situations, fits well into subsistence agricultural strategies. However, market economics dictates that certain products remain in production either because they are economically valuable (i.e., weavers presently have a market for both hemp cloth and their charas); no other more efficacious substitute is available (i.e., the fatty acids contained in hemp seeds are an essential dietary constituent); or they are of intrinsic cultural value (i.e., used in traditional costumes and/or rituals). Farmers of rural Darchula District in western Nepal continue to grow Cannabis crops for all of these reasons, yet encroaching market economies and law enforcement pressure may eventually supersede the present-day conditions favoring Cannabis growing. REFERENCES Bhatt, Dibya Deo, 1977. Natural History and Economic Botany of Nepal. Orient Longman, New Delhi, India: 117-121. Clarke, Robert Connell, 1998. Hashish!. Red Eye Press, Los Angeles, California, USA: 387 p. Dunsmore, Suzi, 1993. Nepalese Textiles. British Museum Press, London, England: 204 p. Hamayun, Muhamad and Zabta Khan Shinwari, 2004. Folk Methodology of Charas (Hashish) Production and Its Marketing at Afridi Tirah, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan. Journal of Industrial Hemp 9(2): 41-50. Hodgson, H. B., 1855. Hemp Cultivation in Nepaul. In Royle, J. Forbes, The fibrous plants of India fitted for cordage, clothing, and paper. With an account of the cultivation and preparation of flax, hemp, and their substitutes. Smith, Elder and Co., London, England: 314-340. Kaplan, J. (Ed.) 1969. Marijuana: Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission 1893-1894 (8 Vols.). Thomas Jefferson Press, Silver Springs, Maryland, USA: 15-84. Rose, 1998, 2006. Personal communications with Mark Rose. Mark and Jyoti Rose own and operate the Wild Fibers sustainable textiles company based in Kathmandu, and are experts in the traditional and contemporary Nepali production of nettle and hemp textiles.

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Shah, N. C., 1997. Ethnobotany of Cannabis sativa in Kumaon Region, India. Ethnobotany 9: 117-121. USDA, 2004. World Markets and Trade. United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service.

doi:10.1300/J237v12n02_03

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