As the marijuana movement gains momentum nationwide, more stories in the media are drawing attention to the fact that our precious greens are in reality, not so green.
Dragonfly Earth Medicine (DEM) is here to set the standard for sustainability with their Pure Certification, and the standard is being set sky-high..
DEM is defining what it means to be a organic cannabis farmer, actually, they’re defining what it means to be a regenerative cannabis farmer. The difference is significant. They are not only educating farmers on how to grow exquisite organic cannabis and sustain their land, but how to actually improve, or regenerate, their land and their community.
Give a man bottled nutrients and he will come back the next week needing more, teach a man to grow his nutrients and he’ll replenish the earth. This is essentially DEM’s philosophy, teaching organic farmers to grow nutrients for your garden, from your garden. It is clear through their actions that their passion lies in spreading the movement of pure medicine, regenerating the land and teaching others their beyond organic methods. DEM Pure is a way of gardening free of chemicals and bottled nutrients and without overuse of animal products and earth-mined minerals. The family-trio is passionate about spreading their ways of sustainability and self-sufficiency.
You may be asking yourself, what exactly does beyond organic mean?
Based on information from dragonflyearthmedicine.com
Organic cannabis farmers have repeatedly faced conflict in labeling their products “organic” because, in order to be certified organic, one needs to go through the Federal Department of Agriculture (emphasis on the federal, you know, those guys who still consider cannabis a Schedule 1 drug).
As farmers who are passionate about creating a clean product know, it takes hard work and dedication to grow organic cannabis. Particularly when growing indoors where you have to be one step ahead in your preventative pest management.
When you spend that much energy caring for and creating organic, clean cannabis, you want to be able to market that purity to your consumers. With the word “organic” off-limits, how are you supposed to assure your customers that what they’re ingesting is free of pesticides and chemicals?
This is where DEM steps in. The Pure Certification “redefines what the cannabis industry sees as pure, clean medicine.” It shows patients that what they’re ingesting is not only organic but sustainable, fair trade and regenerative.
Kelly, Josh, and their son, Sky, have dedicated themselves to spreading the valuable expertise needed to execute an entirely closed-loop cannabis farm. This passion for ganja, permaculture, and organic gardening inspired them to create the DEM Pure Certification. Now that momentum for the cannabis movement is gaining traction nationwide, there is a wide-open stage to set the standards for how cannabis should be growing.
When Josh and Kelly first moved to their farm in British Columbia they dreamed of building a food forest oasis, filled with biodiversity and a thriving ecosystem. They quickly realized their dreams were going to take longer than expected and a lot of hard work because their ground was riddled with rocks and infertile soil. Living two hours away from the closest grow store forced them to learn and create closed-loop gardening systems. They began experimenting, making teas from plants they found wildly growing around the property such as stinging nettle, which they now consistently incorporate into their gardens. They collected various bacterias and fungi from around the property and created their own microorganism brews. They fermented just about anything they could get their hands on, including fish heads from the lake down the road. All this trial and error led them to create a farm that is now, 20 years later, bursting with life and knowledge of the land.
Now let’s talk about just a couple of the many systems that DEM considers closed-loop…
Based on information from dragonflyearthmedicine.com
One of the requirements for the DEM Pure Certification is that you have implemented at least six of these closed-loop practices. They are not limited to this list either, the possibilities are endless when it comes to creating a closed loop, it just takes some brainpower followed by action. Kelly further explains, “Closed loops are a very effective way to keep pathogens out of your gardens because everything that you need is available right there and was manufactured right there.”
One of the primary philosophies behind DEM is feeding plants with plants. Josh, Kelly and Sky educate farmers on how to grow their own nutrients and supplements, rather than buy bottles of who-knows-what. They will enlighten you to see nutrients everywhere you go.
Kelly explains, “This commitment is sought after and given to gardeners that are already on the path of ecological regeneration, growing of high-quality health medicine and food, and educating the next generation of healthy cannabis growers.”
If you’re interested in learning more, the Dragonfly Earth Medicine team is available for consultations which you can find more about on their website. Also, their Instagram is filled with a wealth of beyond organic knowledge.