Thailand Part 4
…that’s been an ongoing theme when it comes to asking “how long have you been growing, what’s your experience?”
The answer always is, when it became legal.
Until I met Loung Dam, a third generation grower on the tiny island of Tao…
When a few of my friends from Thailand heard I was going to visit Koh Tao they said I must try to meet KD Koh Tao.
They sent me a google map location of this cannabis property.
I wasn’t really sure if I just show up or what the deal is. So I looked for a contact, but only found a dormant instagram page and an active Facebook page.
I reached out a couple of times on FB but didn’t get a response.
In Thailand, everything is on Facebook. Not Instagram like in the states.
Ao Tanote Beach
It took a few attempts to connect, just stopping by, so thankfully Tao is tiny!
It was about a 7 minute motorbike ride across the island to reach his place from mine.
And it was right next to this awesome beach that had incredible snorkeling right off the shore. I went there almost every day!
Don’t Look Up!
Third time was charm as I was greeted by a few cats and voices above us on the second level balcony. Pot leafs poking through the pillars of the balcony rail were one of the first things to catch my wandering eyes as I danced around dodging mosquitos.
We walked around the side of the house to make our way to the balcony. His property is super lush with all types of vegetation.
Workers meticulously inspecting the plants
We were kindly greeted by a few people working with the plants. I started snapping some photos while my Thai friend spoke with them.
After a few minutes an older man approached us from the back of the property with a big smile on his face.
Loung Dam
His energy was so warm, such a kind, dope, welcoming human. Thankfully his english was good because my Thai is awful —and I had so many questions!
Our conversation flowed naturally, it was like catching up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years.
We talked about landrace genetics, his cannabis experience, world travel, psychedelics, and other plant medicines.
Buddha on the balcony
As he gave us a tour of his property, he talked about how he doesn’t grow to make a ton of money, but to help the people with access to medicine.
He also gives out his genetics and his herbs to people in need.
Loung Dam, pronounced “Loo-ung Dumb” meaning “Uncle Dam”, is a third generation cannabis grower, activist, and preservationist.
His grandmother grew and traded herb for fish. His mother grew for medicinal benefits and to give to people in need. Naturally, Loung Dam followed in their path.
Early flowering landrace cross
He explained that when he was a child there were less than one hundred people inhabiting the island. Now an astonishing five hundred thousand tourists visit the island each year!
When he entered primary school he had to move to a larger island because Tao didn’t have a school.
What an incredible time to be alive… Being raised on an island with sub one hundred people when herb was prohibited, to now where people from all over the world can connect over this complex beautiful flower. Truly mind blowing.
click image to enlargeUncle Dam looking over the flowers
He kept most the flowering plants on the balcony above his house, the pollinated plants with a male or two in the back of the property, and a small indoor area for seedlings, cloning and an occasional indoor run.
He explained that the cost of flowering herb indoors was really high with the ac, lights, and fans so he doesn’t flower indoor often.
Nursery
Uncle Dam doesn’t breed cannabis like you may think, he doesn’t keep many written records as he pointed to his head as if they were stored in there. Instead, uses intuition to help nature her thing. He’s not a farm in a commercial sense, he explained.
There wasn’t rows of ganja strategically placed. The herb grew every where. In pots, in cups, in bags, in the ground, and in some beds.
click image to enlarge
After chatting for a while I asked if we could smoke. Since uncle Dam doesn’t burn herb any longer, only vaporizes, he still wanted to roll me some joints! His portable flower vaporizer in hand most of our visit.
I followed him into his house and he grabbed some jars from a climate controlled room. I smelled a few and he rolled up a sativa LaLita, named after one of his younger daughters, and the Kushi Kush.
This was the first flowering garden I visited since being in Thailand! Since I came from the beach I only had my Leica Q3 with me.
After leaving later that night I felt like I missed a bunch of photos, so I asked to come by the next day.
When I showed up the next afternoon I found out they were going to be washing some hash and invited me to stay!
It had rained over night, so they had moved the flowering plants undercover.
The whole property was vibing from the fresh drink.
Before I get into the hash washing, there’s an important part of the visit I wanted to share.. The fuckin mosquitos man..!
They were literally all over his property. I told him about my dengue experience and he laughed saying;
“I’ve gotten dengue four times now, all my children, all my friends, all my family..I treat the locals when they get it too. It’s simple, just make papaya leaf tea and drink 3-4x per day. You’ll be better in 3 days.”
I heard that as, all these mosquitos carry dengue!! hahaha ahhh! Thankfully none of my bites from his place got me sick.
I’ll share in more detail about my dengue experience in my upcoming Jamaica blogs.
Anyways - back to the wash…
Full Spectrum Hash prior to Temple Balls
When I came inside from shooting more up in the garden I was surprised to see them washing in the kitchen, but then again I’m not sure where else it would be happening!
KD set up is very much a home grow…to USA standards.
Size is such a funny topic because literally everyone I work with tells me they are a small business —from multiple hundred acre Raw Garden to my bro who has a one lighter in a tent.. "Small biz" I truly wonder what they think I am as I pull up in my van(home)to shoot their products, asking me for a discount...smh
The same people that were tending the garden were washing the weed. They used a power drill to mix in a 50 gal plastic container and then pulled out the blended herb by hand squeezing out all of the water back into the container.
They repeated this a couple of times before pouring the resin water through the micron bags.
I didn’t stay until they finished, unfortunately it was my last night in Tao and I still needed to pack before catching an early morning ferry back to Samui.
Fortunately our connections happened as they did!
That was such an incredible experience hanging with Uncle Dam. I could’ve spent so much more time there. I’m looking forward to visiting again in the future.
It has been such a different vibe visiting grow properties here than anywhere I’ve been.
Everyone has been very welcoming, rather than security guards armed to the gills with check in paperwork and razor wire fences along the perimeter that make you feel like you’re going into a prison.
I don’t recall seeing a single security guard anywhere I’ve been, cannabis related or not.
Theft seems to be a rare occurrence in Thailand from what I’ve heard talking to locals and experienced in my three months of living here.
We could all learn a thing or two from different cultures. Get out, experience the world!!
Thank you, Uncle Dam