Giant hemp maze re-opens in South Estonia for Kanepi Festival
A large industrial hemp maze featuring a huge cannabis leaf shaped center has re-opened on a three-hectare field along the Tartu-Võru road in Saverna, Põlva County. The maze, which will open to the public during this weekend's Kanepi Festival aims to promote the municipality and the various uses of industrial hemp.
It was not easy for Kanepi Municipality to find a farmer willing to sow hemp seeds for the maze.
"Actually, it was quite difficult. Unfortunately, there was not much competition. As the farmer also said, it is difficult to harvest it afterwards. It's not the growing that's difficult, but it's the harvesting," said Kerli Koor, a culture councilor in Kanepi Municipality.
However, after local entrepreneurs came up with the idea two years ago, they are now running their second cannabis bazaar. Last time, they were able to feed the hemp seeds to their chickens afterwards, however, have not yet started to refine the plant itself.
"The end result in terms of what to do with it – the harvesting – is a more laborious project. This year, we're still thinking about whether to harvest it or not. In that respect, it's easier to grow cereals," said Heimar Hani, founder of the maze.
"There has to be a hemp field in Kanepi Municipality, there is no other way," he said ("Kanepi" is the Estonian word for "hemp" – ed.).
The maze will be officially opened as part of the upcoming Kanepi Festival. At that time, information boards will also be placed in the field to teach people about the cultivation of industrial hemp and its beneficial properties. The festival aims to strengthen the local community and cross-sectoral cooperation, and promote local business, tourism and cultural life.
"It can be used in food, cosmetics, construction, even design. This year we have a serious educational and scientific side to it, to really show people the valuable qualities of this intriguing plant, so they don't confuse it with a narcotic plant," said Koor.
"At first, we imagined having a cloud of smoke coming from all sides of this labyrinth, but we have yet to see that," Hani said.
Two years ago, the cannabis maze there was very popular – the field was constantly full of cars and thousands of people visited over the course of the summer.
"A lot of people were trying to find a shortcut out of the maze. If you got lost, there was no alternative, you either went straight towards the road or somewhere else. It will be a bit complicated again this year, we hope," said Hani.
The maze will open to the public on Friday, July 19.
More information about the 2024 Kanepi Festival is available here.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Merili Nael, Michael Cole
