Meet the Farmers
Simply Sol is a long-awaited dream come true
for Travis Bond and Logan Brown, two young mixed raced farmers who are partners
in life and love. With over 15 years of NW agricultural experience, cannabis
cultivation, and farming education between them, they committed to planting
their own regenerative roots just outside of beautiful SE Portland, Oregon. Logan
has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oregon in Environmental
Studies with a focus in sustainable agriculture and policy, as well as a long study
in herbalism which culminates a true devotion to the betterment of the land and
the integral systems at play to decolonize and approve upon the soil, people, and community. Travis has a culinary degree and is from a long lineage of
farmers that has elevated his desire for the highest quality crops, ingredients, and practices to insure the health and safety of all the contributing factors. These two have been working side by side for the last five years honing techniques and gaining as much direct experience as possible in the cannabis and organic gardening worlds.
At the start of 2020, they bought a farm which is a total of 25 beautiful acres to explore and 7+ acres of fields, greenhouses and indoor growing facilities for high quality hemp cultivation that is growing as quick as our beloved hemp plants. Their vision has always been to cultivate a medicinal, educational, and truly sustainable farm utilizing contemporary and traditional seventh generation agricultural practices and renewable energy. Simply Sol’s farmers know that the farm is more than just land, it’s a promise
to always strive for the purest organic crops, innovation towards renewable
resources, and conscious decision making to create healthy abundance for all of
us. They believe that communities are stronger when we recognize the connection
and inherent power in the balance of land, body, and spirit. That’s why they’ve
devoted themselves to farming and the outreach that’s necessary to bring their
medicine near and far.
Simply Sol Inspiration
As a farming
company started by two young people of color, we recognize the
value and necessity for safe, inclusive diversification of classically non
diverse professions. We know that through integrative sustainable practices and
grassroots community organization, we can cultivate a long-term connection to
the food, medicines, and indigenous people of this land. Our mission is to
cultivate high quality, sustainably grown hemp seeds, starts, and alternative
medicines utilizing green energy, conscious farming techniques and local
resources to create accessible renewable medicines, materials, facilities and
education for generations. Our offerings include a diverse range of hemp seeds,
products and tailored medicinal options.
Simply Sol is in
our first year of planting, but all signs point to a great start to a long
agricultural endeavor. Through this
growing season, we have troubleshooted most unforeseen issues that may arise as
a new start up farm on new land. We've gotten acquainted with the process, the
regulatory offices and our target market via networking and community outreach,
creating a regular relationship with key contributors. Currently, we are
developing infrastructure that will help us easily fulfill contracts that we
are currently being negotiated, but are prepared to begin sales through
multiple different avenues as soon as our initial crop is harvested and
processed.
The hemp
industry, while ever-changing, is steadily growing at increasing rates. Seeds
are the fundamental element of the hemp market due to their viability and
ability to produce more environmentally resilient plants, making them the
preferred method for seedling and mature plant production. Our farm will also
address a need in the market for certifiably sustainable growing operations,
while maximize our seed production by utilizing light deprivation, auto flower
strains, and a variety of quick flower techniques to maintain constant
production year-round, solidifying our operation as a regular viable source for
organic hemp seed, plant starts, and products. We plan to utilized small and
large-scale marketing to remain diverse and viable.
We hope to be a
leading supplier of regenerative organic hemp seeds, plants, juice and products in
the PNW and beyond. We feel that by providing a strong, tangible example of
conscious farming and renewable techniques, more agricultural operations will
recognize the potential of true organic practices. We feel that the best way to
network in this way is to grow our farming operation to include gathering
space, workshops, events, and direct farming resources which teach regenerative
techniques, renewable energy and resource acquisition to others seeking similar
opportunities. We hope to specialize in supporting other under privileged
individuals or groups interested in building a resilient agricultural operation
as well.
Reason for Funding
We are currently pre revenue and in the midst of several large-scale construction projects to continue building out the farm for winter and spring cultivation.
Because of CoVID- 19, my co- owner and I have not had a regular income from our
other projects (musicians and gig-based workers) which we had been relying on
in addition to our initial supporter's contribution. With your generosity, we
will be able to continue setting up the necessary infrastructure to allow us
grow continuously regardless of season with an indoor growing facility and
several green houses. This funding will also help us to supplement these indoor
power needs with a solar panel battery array, maintaining a sustainable
footprint all year round as well as regular operational costs for the new
facilities constructed. Any remaining funding will be utilized for further off-grid infrastructure and regular operational costs.
We
recognize that the pressures of today can make abundance far and few between,
but we believe that Simply Sol is a source of infinite health, abundance, and cutting-edge
hemp geneticists committed to improving the industry and the world around them.
This is why we have decided to open our doors for support, because we are sure
that the hemp health industry is only growing in today's times and that health
and wealth go hand in hand. With your contribution, we will be poised with
innovative infrastructure and products as soon as complete and processed next
quarter.
Sustainability
Practices
The name says it all, simply sol.
Only organic home brewed ingredients, clean water, and plenty of sun goes into
our premium hemp and scenic farmland. We strive to close the loop on our land,
in our communities, and in our ethics via innovative outreach and localized
partnerships to fully support and utilize the abundant resources of all voices,
surroundings and cultural lineages of the land. From the ground up, we’ve
structured our company to significantly reduce waste, work with the land, and
to represent a more sustainable option for the hemp and cannabis industry on
multiple levels.
Our continuous goal is to provide
homeostasis by allow nature’s beneficial systems and companion plants the space
to do their magic. Mother Nature knows best on our farm and seek to follow her lead every
day, because we understand that when the land is balanced, the circle of life
takes care of all issues. We build life in our soil with fallen logs and
typical “farm waste” sourced from our own property. We grow flowers to attract
predator bugs and pollinators to naturally combat pest issues. We water our
crops with the abundant rainwater of the PNW. Overall, we proceed with closed
loop farming to only add to the abundance the farm has to offer season after
season.
There are many reasons we do what we do, but we can attribute our deep love of the environment and the abundance it provides to our early affinity to outdoor exploration in our formative years, a deep connection to herbalism and the powers of local plant medicines, as well as our strong love of food, the first medicine.
Farming and hemp cultivation is the ideal culmination of all our loves,
offering a wide variety of highly nutritive, medicinal attributes whose
versatile applications are still being discovered. We plan to continue striving
towards innovative new applications, strains and practices to hopefully inspire
others as we have been.
