Hygyrchedd · Accessibility
Journey Transcript
This page provides a text-only version of the Hemp Cymru scroll journey — a nine-stage interactive experience available on the homepage. All content from the journey is reproduced here in full for screen reader and accessibility purposes.
WCAG 2.1 AA — Text alternative for animated content
01
Hadau · Seed
It begins in the ground.
Wales has grown hemp for centuries. The knowledge, the land, and the climate are all still here. Industrial hemp requires a Home Office licence to grow — approved varieties containing less than 0.2% THC. The first growing season is being planned now, with founding Co-operative members in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and Carmarthenshire.
02
Ffermio · Farming
A crop that works for the farm.
Hemp is not a lifestyle crop. It is a rotational break crop with measurable agronomic benefits, a clear licensing pathway, and — through the Hemp Growers Co-operative — a route to retaining the processing margin on the farm balance sheet.
03
Cynaeafu · Harvest
Cut. Ret. Separate.
After cutting, hemp stalks are laid in the field to ret — a process in which moisture and microbial activity loosen the bond between the outer bast fibre and the woody inner hurd. Field retting takes three to six weeks. The quality of retting determines the quality of the fibre output stream. Hemp Cymru's processing specification is built around field-retted material.
04
Prosesu · Processing
The deal is done. The system runs.
Decortication is the mechanical separation of bast fibre from hurd. The process produces four distinct output streams: long bast fibre, short fibre and tow, hurd, and biomass. The target processing site is the former naval depot at Trecwn, Pembrokeshire — an Enterprise Zone with existing large-footprint infrastructure and eligibility for Welsh Government capital grant funding of up to 40% of qualifying costs.
05
Adeiladu · Construction
Carbon negative. Breathes like a living wall.
Hemp hurd mixed with lime binder and water forms hempcrete — a construction material that sequesters more CO₂ than is emitted in its production. Hempcrete walls are vapour-permeable, have high thermal mass, and continue absorbing carbon for decades after construction. Sonia Klein’s patented hemp block process has produced four completed houses in Iowa. Wales is next.
06
Tecstiliau · Textiles
Long bast fibre. Welsh cloth.
Long bast fibre from the decortication process enters the textile supply chain. Hemp fibre is stronger than cotton, requires no pesticide, and improves with each wash. The market for natural technical fibres — composites, geotextiles, and industrial applications — is growing faster than the apparel textile market. Welsh-grown fibre, processed in Wales, sold into high-value technical markets.
07
Maeth · Nutrition
Hemp seed. Complete protein.
Hemp seed contains all nine essential amino acids and a favourable omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. The seed output stream enters the food and supplement market — hemp hearts, hemp oil, and hemp protein powder. This is one of the fastest-growing segments of the natural food market. Welsh-grown hemp seed, cold-pressed in Wales, sold under Welsh provenance.
08
Cydweithredol · Co-operative
Own the processing margin.
The Hemp Growers Co-operative gives founding members a direct equity stake in the processing operation. When the decortication facility processes your hemp, you receive a share of the processing margin — not just the farm gate price for raw straw. One member, one vote. Surplus distributed in proportion to crop volume delivered. The Co-operative instrument is currently in formation.
09
Strwythur · Structure
Three entities. One supply chain.
Hemp Cymru Platform CLG is the public-facing entity — this website, the events, the policy engagement. The Hemp Growers Co-operative is the farmer-owned processing vehicle. Hemp Processing & Trading Ltd is the commercial processing and offtake entity, targeting Trecwn as its site. Three distinct legal bodies. One integrated supply chain. Value retained in Wales at every stage.