Lo Presto! Masks, clothes, cosmetics and sanitary pads from hemp plants

The startup is currently working with 70 small hemp farmers in four districts of Uttarakhand, including Dehradun, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh and Nainital and 30 women artisans from the weaker sections in Kangra and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh

Two young entrepreneurs, Haneesh Katnawer and Sonam Sodha, who founded the startup Himalayan Hemp, have emerged as innovators with a unique touch. They use hemp plants to produce sanitary pads, shirts, T-shirts and designer wear, bags and shoes, besides protein powder, anti-aging and edible oils, and cosmetic products.

They claim that with this they are enabling small farmers and women artisans, especially from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, to earn more and enjoy a better lifestyle.

Haneesh Katnawer, a production engineer from Himachal Pradesh, and Sonam Sodha, an MBA from Gujarat, left their well-paying jobs in Gujarat to launch the startup, Himalayan Hemp, which today is a community of hemp farmers, artisans and innovators from the two hill states.

During a discussion, the young entrepreneurs said they had registered their start-up in 2019 in Himachal Pradesh for processing stem and seeds of hemp plants to produce protective face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. They said that though the pandemic hit their start-up just a few months after it was launched, they did not lost hope. They succeeded in netting revenue of over Rs 20 lakh through the sale of arguably the world's first N95 certified hemp face mask, apart from the oil and related products.

Katnawer, who is the CEO of Himalayan Hemp, said they will be launching the first-of-its-kind hemp fibre sanitary pads in the next two months. The start-up is currently working with 70 small hemp farmers in four districts of Uttarakhand, including Dehradun, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh and Nainital and 30 women artisans from the weaker sections in Kangra and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh.

"We get raw hemp fibre and seeds from farmers. The hemp stem fibre is subsequently processed into cloth in our mechanized systems (financed by government grants) and the resultant cloth is stitched into designer wear clothes, masks and the proposed hemp fibre sanitary pad by the 30 women artisans," Katnawer said.

But they are just restricted to apparel and hemp seed oil-based products but, as the promoters claim, have built the one-of-its-kind carbon negative and high thermal insulation clay hut in Kullu district, made out of bricks created from a mixture of hemp hurds (generated through hemp stem stalks), lime and clay.

"The unique sanitary pads will be launched soon and that too after undergoing rigorous quality control measures and testing," said Sonam Sodha, the MD-COO of the start-up.

The start-up, which showcased their products at the recent Start-Up expo during the four-day India International Science Festival (IISF-2022) in Bhopal, has already four national and three international awards, besides government grants.