Grower Stories #75: Nyeela Hueholt

Heart in the Right Place: An Interview with Hemp Brand Rooted Heart Remedies

It’s fair to say that plant-based medicine has exploded into popularity over the last twenty years or so. Hemp has been a part of that growth. AskGrowers sits down with Nyeela Hueholt, owner & operator of quality hemp brand Rooted Heart Remedies, about their origins, their products, and what’s next for the brand. #growerstories

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Tia (AskGrowers) : What inspired you to get into the cannabis industry?

Nyeela Hueholt : Five years ago I moved to Maine to assist with starting a licensed medical grow. During this time I became a part of Maine’s MMJ Caregiver Program, I really fell in love with the program and working with patients directly. Although cannabis had been around me for most of my life, it wasn’t until this point that I really started to cultivate a relationship with the plant and understand how truly profound her healing potential was. As many caregivers do, I was working with people who had severe chronic conditions like Crohn's Disease and Cancer. For many, cannabis was the only thing offering any sort of relief.

Having these experiences first hand was truly profound and life changing and indeed what sparked my passion. As this was all happening I was also healing myself from Lyme’s Disease and an autoimmune disorder-and like many others, Western medicine wasn’t offering me any long term solutions. All of these events ignited a true passion to work with plants and assist people to step into their own power and to heal themselves holistically.

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Tia : How did you start your brand? Tell us your origin story!

Nyeela : In the first few years of being a caregiver many patients would require very high doses of THC to acquire their desired results. I started brainstorming about different options we could try and during this time I was introduced to CBD. I had a friend in CO who ran an organic hemp operation and produced a beautiful, full spectrum CBD concentrate.

I experimented making different ingestibles and topicals, shared these creations with patients, friends and family and had overwhelming positive feedback. During this time I was battling Lyme’s Disease and an autoimmune disease as well and noticed signicificant changes with my own health as well. Sourcing hemp flower or CBD concentrate in Maine 4-5 years ago was not really an option. As soon as Maine created their hemp cultivation program I hopped onboard, started a farm with help of family and friends, and naturally created seed to sale products from there on out.

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Tia : What’s your brand mission? Why should consumers pick your brand instead of others?

Nyeela : My mission with Rooted Heart is to create the highest-quality cannabinoid rich, herbal infused products and for those products to inspire people to cultivate a relationship with plant medicine, the natural world, and themselves. I believe this starts with conscious cultivation and an understanding of soil, nature, and respect for our Mother! An immense amount of love goes into every step of our process, from seed to sale.

We cultivate our hemp regeneratively-meaning we positively contribute to the natural ecosystem vs. depleting it. Putting our attention towards building the soil vs. feeding the plant, this most importantly includes creating a diverse ecosystem above and below the soil. I believe consumers should be choosing their cannabis based on sustainability and the environmental impact of the company above all.

Rooted Heart Remedies is also 100% woman-owned, we use only 100% organic ingredients and source locally whenever possible, all products are lab tested, herbalist formulated, and made in very small batches. We’re in it for the right reasons ?.

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Tia : You have an “Educate” column on your website. What do you plan to have there?

Nyeela : Education is a very crucial part of cannabis medicine, now more than ever. The cannabis industry is growing extremely fast and many people aren’t educated about the environmental effects of growing, how their medicine is grown, proper dosing, the importance of choosing the right medicine, etc.; the list goes on. I’m currently working on blog posts and interviews to help educate consumers on these topics. In addition, I will be hosting weekly in-person classes at the farm this summer and will post class schedules and videos here as well.

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Tia : How do you get your topicals?

Nyeela : Our website is the best place to purchase our full line of topicals. We have a handful of retail partners in Maine, the Northeast, and sporadically throughout the country as well. Reach out to us directly if you ever have any questions.

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Tia : With so many products making false claims, how can a CBD consumer be more knowledgeable and make an educated decision when shopping?

Nyeela : Don’t be afraid to ask questions. How was the CBD derived from the hemp plant? What solvents were used? Does the product contain other trace cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids (is the product truly full spectrum?) Is the CBD derived from hemp that was cultivated organically? Look at the ingredients list of each product. Research the companies you’re purchasing from and contact them directly. Support your local cannabis farmers & makers. These companies are often times more likely to deliver a quality product vs. many of the nationally recognized companies.

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Tia : Tell us more about your farm. What’s the size, how you cope with all the work, etc?

Nyeela : I originally started Rooted Heart on a different farm than where I currently farm. It has been a difficult transition but I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned to a new piece of land. The farm itself is roughly an acre and I will most likely keep it this size. There’s room to expand but I enjoy quality over quantity, I believe that’s a key component to keep the passion and love alive!

Focusing on a polyculture style of farming saves me an immense amount of time. Plant cover crops to suppress weeds instead of spending time weeding, plant companion plants to create diversity and attract beneficial insects vs. spending time spraying. I truly believe if you care for the land she will care for you back.

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Tia : Do the barriers you faced entering the industry still exist today?

Nyeela : Many of them still exist, yes. One of the biggest barriers has been navigating the forever changing laws and regulations, locally and federally. Often times these laws favor large scale operations and corporations, an issue I think most small business owners can relate to these days. There’s always risk of payment processors dropping you, insurance costs are astronomical, banking still has its flaws; the list goes on.

Although “hemp” is federally legal and all cannabis is headed in that direction, there’s still a lot of risk involved in operating a business. Most importantly the government needs their tax money and then we can fine tune the rest, right haha.

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Tia : What’s your personal consumption routine? What are the top three products that you’re using?

Nyeela : Each morning starts with a healthy dose of our Full Spectrum Hemp extract and a full body rub down with one of our botanical infused body butters or oil (our Recover Body Butter & Relax Body Oil are my go-tos right now), and I enjoy ending the day with some of our high CBD flower.

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Tia : Are there any cannabis brands in your state you appreciate and follow? Name them.

Nyeela : I have immense gratitude for the hard-working, dedicated folks behind [tooltip title="The Maine Craft Cannabis Association" content="The coalition of Legalize Maine, Compassionate Caregivers, and small Maine cannabis businesses."]The Maine Craft Cannabis Association[/tooltip]. A group of lobbyists, small business owners, cultivators, and activists focused on supporting small businesses within the industry, protecting patient rights within the medical program, and bringing awareness to environmental and social justice issues within the industry.

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You can follow Rooted Heart Remedies at:

Facebook

Instagram

Thank you so much, Rooted Heart Remedies team, for taking the time to do the interview. To learn more about them, head on over to their website.