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5th BIG BERRY Mastermind 2018: Arné Verhoef

How hemp can play an important role in human health?

BIG BERRY Kolpa River was pleased to welcome our 5th BB Mastermind of the 2018 season: the trained biologist and farmer from South Africa, Arné Verhoef. We thank him for his time and his very interesting talk about all the various uses and benefits of hemp and "how hemp can play an important role in human health?"

“Hemp for health”

Arné is a trained biologist and a farmer interested in useful plants. This interest lead him to the most useful plant on the planet - Cannabis. He owns a Hemp company, Hemphub, that produces CBD oils with an unique African twist.

Arne Verhoef   Arne Verhoef 6

Arné has given several talks and presentations on Cannabis and other botanicals, but the occasion that he is most proud of was at the Clinical Cannabis Convention, held at Wits University in South Africa. He was pretty surprised that he was invited to speak at the convention because he felt outclassed by the calibre of experts.

“Health not only for the people, but for the whole planet”

It was a sunny evening on Sunday, 3d of June, 2018 and we from BIG BERRY, our partners and guests gathered outside to listen Arné talk about all the benefits of hemp. He asked if anyone was familiar with the benefits, but none of us raised our hands. It was clear that we were at the right place to learn about the healthy advantages of this plant. He said that hemp originated from South Asia and that it’s possible to make over 5000 products from it. People from the past were aware of the benefits, since it was first used about 12000 years ago.

“It can replace fiberglass, and call it ‘’fibergrass’’''

Arné then continued talking about the use of hemp in his home country, South Africa. There it is used both as medicine and for recreational purpose. In the radioactive city Chernobyl they are trying to use it to soak up the radiation. We were pretty surprised to hear that Hemp products can be used to build houses and buildings in general. One house in Cape Town is made entirely out of Hemp. It is a great isolation, can withstand earthquakes and is even fireproof. And if you ever get tired of your ‘’Hemp home’’, you will be able to reuse all the materials for your next project.

‘’Best protein available’’

Arné continued talking about the health benefits of Hemp products. It’s actually one of the best things to include in a diet and its leaves can be used to make all kinds of salads. The leaves contain a great amount of dietary fiber as well as vitamin A and vitamin C. They act as antioxidants and can stabilize blood sugar. He also mentioned various hemp products and we were lucky that he and our BB Partner, Mr Kočevar, brought some of the products to the seminar. Some of the products included hemp oil, lotion and protein powder. The protein powder made from hemp is a better alternative to soy and it’s easy digestible. It is even possible to make milk from hemp, which can also be used to make tasty yoghurts and even tofu. One of the last products we were able to try was the hemp lotion. It is a perfect solution for dry skin and serious skin problems like psoriasis. After going through the products provided by our BB Mastermind and our BB Partner Kočevar, Arné finished his seminar with the thought that hemp is going to change the world into a better place.

 “The only thing that I don’t like about the lotion, is the fact that I find myself smelling my hands too much, ´cos it smells so good ”

Arne Verhoef 5   Arne Verhoef 8

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By Ivan Stimac