Thai’s Hemp History and Beyond

In Thailand, hemp is traditionally used to spin fibres to make clothes. It is an integral part of Hmong life, From birth until death, newborn babies are welcomed with a hemp cloth, their adults wear clothes made with hemp fibres throughout their lives, and their deceased are dressed in hemp garments and shoes. The Hmong don’t use hemp to get high.

ThaiHemp has been rooted in the Siamese culture since the ancestral era, Hemp also plays a key role in Thai’s hilltribe culture and restricting them from growing and using hemp is ethnic discrimination as well as a sustainable cash crop for local farmer.

However hemp history & culture in South East Asia rooted more than 5000 years old along China through Vietnam, Laos and Burma and the mountainous region in northern Thailand such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Tak province, Asian’s strong beliefs about hemp can be seen in their various celebrations where hemp is a core element from Thai Hmong to Japanese Shinto that has been associated with hemp since ancient times as the sacred plants “Taima”

Hemp is an ancient fabric, extracted and woven since the eighth century BC. It gained a reputation for being durable and can be used for a variety of products, ranging from apparel, shoes, bags, carpet, furniture, or bulletproof jackets and even hemp bioplastics.

The natural hemp fabric can also protect human skin from UV radiation. The textile is breathable and does not absorb sweat. The fibre has a natural resistance to mould and bacteria and the hemp cloth is machine washable and can be worn without ironing

Picture origin at mgronline.com