Synonyms: Tanintharyi Red Star, Tanawsri
Genetics:  Open Pollinated NLD Type Landrace
Style: Ganja
 
District: Kaeng Krachan
Province: Petchaburi
Area: Tenasserim
Region: Northern Tenasserim
Appellation: Tenasserim Hills
Country: Thailand
 
Tanah Seri, or Tenasserim, meaning the “Glowing Land” is an ancient name for the region said to have once been encompassed by the kingdom of Thaton, otherwise known as Suwarnabhumi from about 400BCE until the Kingdom collapsed after a long period of encroachment by first the Khmer and ultimately an invasion by the kingdom of Pagan. Cannabis here is ancient, though this variety is not.
 
Tanaosri Red Star was grown by Karen villagers and Thai Communist guerillas hiding in the mountains of the Thai-Myanmar border during the period of insurgency in the region, beginning in the late 1960’s. By that time the Karen people were also conducting an insurgency against the Bamar state in Yangon. The two groups were known to liaise heavily and Cannabis growing was a source of revenue for both groups. The Red star then appears to be a cross between a local landrace with Phu Phan Squirrel tail, stabilised in the region in the late 1800’s and then later crossed again with broader leaved drug  and or fibre type cultivars brought to the region by the Karen people during their migrations from modern day Yunnan beginning in the same time period.
 
Adapted to the local environment for over 50 years now, it grows with broader leaves than most of it’s neighbours due to the influence of Yunnanese genetics however it tends to keep it’s Sativa like structure and character, stretching fast and hard towards light. It is more productive than other local strains, accounting for its popularity and reflecting its purpose as a source of revenue for armed struggle. Consequently, it has been bred for potency and flavour, both of which are prominent.
 
How long the Karen have been there is up for debate - but it far predates the establishment of the Thai national parks, namely Kaeng Krachan - whose guard force burns down Karen villages regularly with impunity. Committing atrocities in the name of protecting the ecosystem of the park ostensibly. 
 
 
While illegal logging and poaching continues in the region - it's difficult to look at the landrace cannabis farmers as the culprits of ecological breakdown. Small villages growing weed in the traditional shifting agriculture pattern selling the crop to mafia in Thailand and to the guerrillas on the other side of the border in Myanmar hardly seem to be the driving force behind the events here. 
 
Today the Tanaosri genetics are in the hands of many people in this new legal Thai Cannabis industry - but the original Karen growers don't have passports, let alone a hope to get a license to grow weed in the Western Forest Complex of the Tenasserim hills, their home. Who knows what the future will bring for the landraces here. Thailand's recent legislation never stood a chance at meaningfully preserving the local landraces. 
 
As it stands, we have a limited stock of the 2021 Tanaosri Red Star harvest left from the original growers. 2022 may see the size of the fields dramatically reduced as domestic demand for illegally grown authentic landrace collapses amidst the onslaught of shitty, badly grown polyhybrids now flooding the market.