Growing a Morama community in the Mountain Kingdom

Lesotho is home to some of the best natural growing conditions for medical cannabis in the world. It’s also home to some of the best people in the world, in our opinion. At Morama, our focus is on furthering sustainability in the region and uplifting the local community. We embrace our place in supporting the Basotho cultural and traditional context, in which we’re so grateful to be rooted – Africa’s celebrated Mountain Kingdom.

It starts with living soil

At our breathtaking, 45 hectare facility in the Maloti Mountains, we’ve remained committed to only cultivating cannabis with living soil. This means painstakingly reviving, encouraging and using the naturally occurring soil biodiversity of fungi, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, and earthworms to  break down organic matter into food for our plants. 

To enhance our living soil, we use no till farming methods that further protect our microcosm of tiny colleagues. Instead, we invest in organic fertilising and mulching that enriches from the top down, while introducing fresh aeration to the mix (gently, without disturbing the microstructures beneath). Together, these efforts result in critical, lasting soil regeneration for the future, in areas where farming practices have historically decimated the natural terroir. 

Not only do we employ low-impact, organic cultivation, but we also make conservative use of a purely natural water source, and rely on sunlight and the annual seasons (not artificial growing lamps that require electricity) to further reduce Morama’s carbon and ecological footprints.

“We’ve designed our facility around a core of three fundamental principles: organic, regenerative farming techniques; local community engagement and enrichment; and sustainability.” – Morama Group CEO, Scott Henson

Nurturing the hands that work the land

At Morama, we’re passionate about the people who are part of our team, drawing straight from local communities to employ and upskill the key contributors who run our facility. We’ve successfully pioneered a variety of skill transfer programmes, which we continue to develop as we prepare our staff to conduct operations with more experience and independence in future. With over 50 employees hired thus far, and a 20% ownership by involved Basotho partners, we’ve forged meaningful relationships with the district council, its stakeholders, as well as community leaders. 

We’ve also recently launched a communal vegetable garden on a specially designated piece of the fertile Morama farmland, where our workers are provided with all they need, and encouraged to freely grow and harvest their own produce to take home and share with their families, friends and neighbours. 

Fueling a brighter future for Lesotho’s underserved

In Lesotho, more than half the population lives below the poverty line in remote areas across the country, without the infrastructure for access to basic necessities like fresh water and electricity. As a result, many households are left with no option but to habitually huddle around an open fire inside their poorly ventilated huts, to keep warm in winter, cook their food and boil their water for drinking. Not only does this cripple local communities (without healthcare) with repeated smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning related illnesses, but the fires that burn all day rely on a steady stream of wood for fuel that endlessly damages the surrounding environment and air quality further.

Thankfully, there’s a groundbreaking initiative by the Eternal Flame organisation in the UK, donating fuel-efficient cookware that reduces the need for wood fire heating, to remote villages in Lesotho. Using their locally made, revolutionary and simple design, families can prepare meals by heating a pot until boiling point (in the morning), after which the pot is removed from the heat source, and covered with the special insulating technology in the cook-bag. This keeps the pre-heated pot warm for several hours, allowing the food to keep cooking until dinner time. This means less wood burning, less smoke, less damage to health, and a smaller impact on our precious earth’s resources.

Morama is proud to be involved in the production of Eternal Flame’s life-saving, eco-friendly slow-cook bags, by donating bi-product plant fibres to be used for their uniquely biodegradable, light-weight and flexible insulation properties. With this innovative project, we hope to remain an active partner in bettering the health and environment of Lesotho’s underserved communities.