hemp
I spent most of the afternoon knitting with hemp. Not soft hemp yarn or uniform hemp string used for necklaces, but scratchy, rough, hemp fiber which varied in diameter from that of a strand of human hair to a regular spaghetti noodle - full of knots, slubs, and frayed bits. Hard on the hands at first, it soon became oddly satisfying to work with and it's beautiful stuff. I love hemp clothing, and now I'm certain that I need to buy some soft hemp yarn and knit a sweater or two.

This hemp was a recent impulse buy; I hadn't a clue what I was going to knit with it. I thought about a table runner or some drawstring storage bags. What I ended up knitting was an 18-inch square. I used about 1/4 of what I bought. If I come up with an exciting project, I'll just unravel the square and reuse it.

The "Little House" connection? CANVAS. Like the canvas used in Charles Ingalls' wagon cover.

Back in Laura's day, canvas was a rugged fabric used to make wagon covers as well as tents. It was originally Cannabis hemp, which became canvas, based on the Dutch pronunciation of the word cannabis. In 1938, it became illegal to grow hemp in the United States for any use, including the manufacture of cloth goods, yet it is currently grown in many other countries, including Canada and England. Hemp has great industrial potential as a replacement for cotton used today in canvas, for tree pulp paper, and for fossil fuel products.

Laura Ingalls Wilder supported and promoted letter-writing campaigns to government officials about things she believed in. I believe in hemp. Industrial hemp is not marijuana, but rather a non-intoxicating plant that has been cultivated and used in a multitude of ways around the world for millennia. Hemp production is a billion dollar industry, illegal to grow in the United States but legal to import. ("Why, Pa, why?") Be more Laura-like, and spread the word:

Dear ___ (insert name of Senator or Congressperson):

I am writing you today to urge your support for the revival of the American Hemp Industry in our state. Hemp, otherwise known as Cannabis Sativa L. has been cultivated by humans for over 10,000 years and continues to be grown in many industrial nations including Canada, England, France, Germany, Thailand, China and Hungary. Hemp was grown by our founding fathers and used for textiles (the first American flag was made from hemp), paper (the first draft of the Constitution was written on hemp paper) and the hemp seed was the mainstay of the colonial diet and provided lamp oil. The original diesel engine as well as today's models can run on pure hemp oil, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. Hemp oil can be used as a base for paints and inks as well as an industrial lubricant.

Hemp is the strongest natural fiber (three times as strong as cotton) and can be grown without harmful pesticides and herbicides. Breeding techniques have yielded industrial hemp strains, which contain virtually no THC (the psychoactive chemical in marijuana), eliminating any potential drug value. One acre of hemp produces as much paper as four acres of trees and the crop is ready in 120 days, not 120 years. Farmers stand to gain access to a crop with excellent profit potential (current paper pulp prices would net $200 profit per acre) that will not degrade their valuable topsoil. We as a nation stand to gain an abundant fiber and oil source while protecting what is left of our forests. Our forests provide much more of a service than simple beauty and recreation. They are a habitat to millions of creatures and also serve as the lungs for our planet. There is no doubt that deforestation must end very soon and I think hemp is the answer.

Sincerely,
(Sign and Print Your Name. Mail. Need help with the address? Start here: http://www.house.gov/ and http://www.senate.gov )
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM