HempSquatch

HempSquatch™ was founded by Megan Guppy and Bob Paltrow, in 2013. We met playing together in a band ‘Your Highness’ in Bellingham, around 1999. We fast became friends and shared many of the same passions, interests and concerns: art, music, sustainability, environment, science, spirituality, politics.

HempSquatch was Megan’s brainchild, and she employed me to visualize the HempSquatch, or “Hempy” as Megan liked to refer to the character.

Megan and I met at Old World Deli in Bellingham, Washington on February 26th of 2013. She said she had a graphics project for me. We sat down to have lunch, and she said her project – the concept – was built around a character named HempSquatch. When she said it, I laughed. I liked it.

She went on to make an analogy to the Sasquatch – or more precisely, our perception and limited understanding of the Sasquatch. How it is very much based on a fleeting image. We see it, but it is unclear. Its a blur in an old photograph. So, there is all kinds of rumor and speculation swirling around Sasquatch. Is he gentle? Is he a brute? Intelligent? Some think more intelligent than humans. Some think less intelligent. Missing link? Hoax? Its all speculation.

And then Megan said, “That is the way it is with hemp.” There is misinformation. Speculation. Propaganda created by big corporate interests who see hemp as a competitive threat to lumber companies; food companies; textile manufacturers. There is the propaganda machine that has blurred the lines between industrial hemp and cannabis, and in fact has wrongfully depicted hemp as pot – as a narcotic drug.

Hemp can be made into lumber; concrete; floors. You can eat it. Make clothes out of it. It obviously has medicinal value.

So, HempSquatch was to be that character – an emissary of goodwill, better information and a mechanism to enhance and enable a more intelligent and reasonable conversation around hemp. And marijuana. To expose and dispel the myths and misinformation. To inform, discuss and educate.

And perhaps most importantly, to promote hemp as a sustainable product and industry in all its myriad forms and uses.

HempSquatch is a symbol for both myth and fact; mystery and enlightenment; ignorance and knowledge

HempSquatch will be examining current news and events; exploring its history, and connecting with people around the globe who are developing myriad uses for this versatile plant.
We’ll be exploring an array of topics related to hemp, including:

• Food Source & Nutritional Supplement
• Paper Products & Timber Replacement
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Alternative Fuel
• Textiles & Construction
• Medicinal and Therapeutic uses
• Beauty and Health
• Cannabis Culture
• Cannabis Commerce
• Exploring Legalization
• The Politics of Hemp

and many more. We invite you to join the conversation.

Through the sharing of education, discussion and activism, HempSquatch hopes to shift the perceptions and dispel the misconceptions about hemp. Like the sasquatch, hemp has a history of being misunderstood and not seen clearly for what it is. As hemp and its cousin cannabis step to the forefront of the national conversation, we invite you to join us on a journey of discovery and possibilities as we uncover all the benefits hemp has to offer.