How We Started
Let’s start at the very beginning
The genesis of Ukhi began at the time Vishal Vivek, Jaspreet Singh, and Vivek Singh, co-founders of Ukhi fell in love with the rugged charms of Uttarakhand. Unbeknownst to them, the mountains had cast a spell on them that brought them back to the remotest of the villages, far away from the tourist spots of Uttarakhand time and again. During the visits, they noticed something quite unseen in the urban areas – villages without men! The land and weather of Uttarakhand are not particularly forgiving.
The lack of resources drive men away from their homes far into the tourist-laden parts of the states, or to nearby states for making a living.
The women of the villages were left without resources for long months till their husbands or sons returned with money from the nearby towns or cities. No one was interested in tilling and harvesting anymore. The land didn’t produce much. There was a persistent lack of water and the sales did not yield enough proceeds for the families to sustain.
There was a problem with mass migration, where people from the unknown villages left their homes in search of a better life.
“Is it possible to give these people a better life in their own villages” – thought Vishal. The thought soon evolved into Ukhi, a trust aiming at empowering rural India’s farmers via the scientific and market-driven cultivation of hemp, with a focus on organic farming practices.
Hemp – Really? Is it even legal? Isn’t it addictive?
These are the questions everyone peppers us with.
Once highly popular and unregulated, hemp, right now faces regulations and controversies. A close cousin of the cannabis plant, hemp has a negligible THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content (as low as 0.3%). It is a super crop and a superfood.
At Ukhi, we believe that hemp has the power to change lives and transform the world for the better.
At Ukhi, we try to imbibe our ancestral wisdom into our daily lives. We try to make hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, hemp fabrics, and knit textures accessible to the hemp natives all across the world.
We desire to cultivate a dedicated community of caring hemp natives, who don’t just buy a yard of fabric from us, but also become a part of the positive change that hemp is about to bring!
The Horrors of Kedarnath Floods of 2013 – And How It Led to The Genesis of Ukhi
The devastating flood of 2013 shook homes, mountains, and faith! Hundreds of villages were left barren. The specters of that horrific week linger in the desolate streets and stretches of land in and around Kedarnath.
When Vishal and his team visited these parts of the country, he was moved and shaken and simulated to do something scalable and sustainable, to contribute towards the rehabilitation of life and prosperity in and around Kedarnath.
The opportunity came in the form of the legalization of the cultivation of hemp in Uttarakhand in 2017. The legalization has given the rural agricultural communities of the state a ray of hope. It was the first step that would mark the beginning of a successful journey.
The weather conditions, land quality, and resources available in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand are perfect for the cultivation of industrial hemp. Vishal and his dedicated team of hemp revolutionaries did not just want the local farmers to cultivate the crop, but they wanted the farmers and their families to become a part of the hemp revolution in India and abroad.
Why Do We Believe That Hemp Can Make A Difference?
Ukhi wants to restore the balance between human needs and natural resource utilization. We don’t want you to be the buyer of hemp products. We want you to be an investor in the sustainable development of our rural economy.
Every product you purchase carries the care, love, and passion of at least one farmer and his family from the remotest village of Uttarakhand. Hemp is not just a crop. It is the emblem of the change that can improve the economic condition of the thousands of families weaving their hopes and dreams with hemp.
Change does not come easily and at Ukhi we understand that from our experience!
Apart from making the finest quality of environmentally friendly textiles and products available to the rest of the world, we aim to break the stigma that shrouds the cultivation of the crop and production of hemp products.
Each member of the Ukhi has taken the vow to inform and educate our peers, consumers, and farmers about the benefits of hemp. Spreading awareness is the only way to remove the misconceptions people still have about the highly useful plant.
We Aim To Restore The Glory of Hemp as a Supercrop
Breaking the stigma about the use of hemp is one way to bring the men back to their homes and reinstate prosperity in the villages. Uttarakhand is the Devbhumi (Land of Gods), which no family should have to abandon in the search of a livelihood.
Hemp is the natural source of hundreds of phytocannabinoid compounds including CBD (cannabidiol). These compounds have medicinal properties that range from anti-inflammatory and anti-emetic to anti-carcinogenic. Hundreds of teams from across the world are looking for pure hemp seeds and oil for research and medicinal purposes.
Thousands more are interested in the durable fiber that the plant produces and the hemp seeds that contain high protein. In the last few years, people have embraced the role of hemp as a natural cure-all and superfood across the globe.
Hemp – The Crop That Has The Power to Change Our World for the Better
The acceptance of hemp sparks a light in the lives of those who grow the crop and make the hemp-related products.
Each of our products connects you to the farmer who produced the hemp, his family, who made the product, the land where the crop grew and to the world that we are trying to save! Ukhi offers sustainability in a tangible form with the eco-friendly hemp products.
So, it is not just us, it is also you and your buyers, who are making the world a better place one hemp product at a time!
It is not only us, who are trying to give the villagers a better life, but it is also you because you chose to invest in hemp products instead of something manufactured inside a factory!