From the divine association of cannabis with Lord Shiva to reigning as the theme in movies like ‘Go Goa Gone’ and ‘Kapoor & Sons’, India sure has come a long way. Bhang, charas or marijuana are not new names – these have been used for recreational purposes and in festive occasions since ages. What makes it relevant today is the billion-dollar industry waiting to be explored as a cash crop. Rolling up the sleeves to make fortune in the industry, Yash Kotak, Co-founder & Director, Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO) kick-started the business in hemp in 2013 when there was no other significant player in the same play. The company started by creating a platform aligning farmers, government, industry partners, researchers, scientists, lawyers to gain consensus to create products, brand them and make them accessible to users. Kotak mentions, “We wanted to explore how hemp can contribute to fulfil the basic necessities of mankind from its 250,000 uses. We narrowed down to providing medicine, shelter, food and clothing from hemp.”
FROM SEED TO SALES iHemp products started its journey in 2011 globally and obtained government licence to grow industrial hemp in Uttarakhand. The Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA) is an NGO promoting Indian iHemp while B.E Hemp India focuses on making stationery and accessories from hemp as a greener alternative. Interestingly, have you thought of living in a place made of cannabis? Giving shape to this far-fetched thought, GreenJams Infrastructure designs hempcretes – bricks made from hemp by using agricultural waste from Uttarakhand as a raw material and focuses on bio-aggregate building materials. NHempCoalso makes hemp seed oil to cure skin diseases such as burn, pain, acne, pigmentation and allergy. A 2019 AIIMS study reported that about 7.2 million Indians had consumed cannabis in the past year despite its illegality for commercial cultivation.
This story is from the Autumn 2019 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.
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This story is from the Autumn 2019 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.
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