Who are we?

Our collective comprises of a union of underground growers, collectors and activists based in the region known as the Southeast Asian Highlands (Zomia) which is made up of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and India.

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What do we do?
 

The highlands of Zomia seem to represent a crucial centre of diversity in the cannabis gene-pool and we seek to preserve it's diversity by documenting the landrace cannabis growing here extensively and engaging with landrace cannabis growers in the region to join our collective.

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We sell the seeds from within our network in order to provide crucial income for our growers and use our subscription program to fund our research, development projects and expeditions.

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Research

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At heart, this is a passion project dedicated to studying the indigenous varieties of Zomia. We believe that the best way to do this is to systematically collect data by conducting field trips to traditional growing regions and making long term connections with local farmers in order to create information gathering networks that centre the individuals and communities growing landraces today. This information is to be used to allow native Zomians to participate in the creation of a new understanding of the world of Cannabis that is rooted in data and science that recognizes the inherent value of biodiversity within the Cannabis genome and places the people responsible for this biodiversity at the forefront of the project. 

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Most of all, we believe in transparency, making friends and finding new allies so if you have any questions, please get in touch below.

 

Philosophy

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The philosophy of our Collective is deeply rooted in the principles of autonomy and self-determination, which are closely linked to the historical and ongoing anti-colonial movements in the region of Zomia. Our collective aims to understand and support the ways in which marginalised communities in Zomia have historically resisted state control and governance through various means such as shifting cultivation and indigenous armed struggles. We draw inspiration from thinkers such as James C. Scott, who in his book "The Art of Not Being Governed" examines the ways in which these communities have chosen to live outside of the state system and govern themselves. Additionally, we also draw on the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, specifically their concept of Nomadology, which argues that the state operates through a system of territoriality, exerting control over individuals and populations through the mechanisms of capture, while the nomad, on the other hand, exists outside of this system and actively resists capture by the state.

 

We believe that the cultivation and conservation of landrace cannabis is a form of resistance integral to the autonomy of communities in Zomia.