Organic, sustainable practices shape Asheville Craft Cannabis

When Taig Rehmel witnessed the corporate take-over of the cannabis industry during the ‘green rush’ on the West Coast, his vision for sustainable, organic cannabis began to take shape. 

“Most people don’t realize that cannabis has almost always been plagued with unregulated energy pollution and the massive use of non-natural (and harmfully manufactured) inputs,” Rehmel said. “That’s why my vision has always been simply to cultivate organic cannabis with renewable methods and prove that in doing so you can not only lower overhead, heal the environment, and strengthen communities but also raise the product quality above the expected standard.”

Now, as the co-founder of Asheville Craft Cannabis, Rehmel is making that vision a reality by cultivating organic cannabis with renewable methods.

Read the rest of our interview with Rehmel below…

Tell us about your business and the role you play in it.

Hello! My name is Taig Rehmel, co-founder of Asheville Craft Cannabis. We’re a regenerative, Seed-to-Shelf Hemp Farm founded in 2018 by a group of experienced artisans and friends, passionate about premium small-batch cannabis guided by organic and regenerative values. Our business began with a mission to cultivate premium CBD strains using modern technology combined with organic and regenerative practices, while also strengthening the local cultivation community by offering services that support Hemp farmers.

Today, we maintain our own retail and wholesale products while powering other brands with the highest quality, sustainable, traceable, and compliant hemp, from bulk flower to white labeled products as well as offering brands custom bred designer strains engineered in our in-house breeding and propagation facility.

Where did your vision begin? How has it grown?

My vision for sustainable cannabis began with my career in the cannabis industry over 20 years ago. I was involved in the West Coast “green rush” and experienced what felt like a corporate take-over of the cannabis industry that created monopolies and pushed out organic and craft farmers while becoming more and more energy-hungry and pollutant. Most people don’t realize that cannabis has almost always been plagued with unregulated energy pollution and the massive use of non-natural (and harmfully manufactured) inputs. That’s why my vision has always been simply to cultivate organic cannabis with renewable methods and prove that in doing so you can not only lower overhead, heal the environment, and strengthen communities but also raise the product quality above the expected standard.

Asheville Craft Cannabis’ mission follows the same thread of all-organic, sustainably cultivated cannabis but has taken my vision to a whole new level, as we reclaim 100,000 sq/feet of abandoned greenhouse through a true adaptive reuse project. We’ve grown in how we achieve our vision by creating hybrid-greenhouses explicitly designed for cultivating cannabis year-round in ideal conditions using natural sunlight, living soil, raw organic nutrients, and the least amount of energy possible. The result is a fusion between indoor quality and outdoor sustainability. As we develop, we’re constantly tweaking and improving recipes and methods to perfect every detail of production, creating the highest-quality product with absolute dedication to our environmental impact.

What made you choose the Asheville area?

We specifically chose Asheville for its environmental and craft values. Not only does Asheville attract like-minded people who care about the environment, but Asheville is also a hub for innovative companies working sustainably. A true community of artisans and makers. Cannabis is more than a plant, it’s a community, and our community has been vital to the realization of our craft dream. I believe Asheville can truly honor this plant, keeping it craft, quality and sustainable while becoming a central hub and role model in the burgeoning east coast cannabis industry.

What is a little-known fact about your organization?

Few people know that we are the first Demeter Certified Biodynamic hemp producer in the United States! We’re extremely proud of that because Demeter USA is recognized worldwide for its rigorous standards regarding plant fertility, disease, pest and weed control, water conservation, and biodiversity for beyond-organic cultivation practices. So we toot that horn whenever possible.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share? 

Actually, we’d also like to mention where we’re located! Our greenhouses, processing facilities, and headquarters are housed at Smith Mill Works, an organic agricultural business incubator in West Asheville. Their support has been instrumental to our success, in addition to the fact that we really appreciate being on the same property as other great companies like Mother Earth Foods, The Organic Growers Schools, Smart Fellers and Mountain Flame Yoga.