Life & Work with Kaya Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaya Williams.

Kaya, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Kaya Williams, and I am the owner of The Green Farmacy, LLC. We are a fifth-generation family farm dedicated to creating handmade hemp products the way nature intended: no pesticides, no-tillage, just cannabis.

My passion for regenerative agriculture is ingrained in me. Growing up, I spent many weekends and summers at my great grandparents’ farm tucked away in small-town Adams, TN. I ran freely, played with the cows, and quietly fell in love with the Tennessee countryside. After my great grandparents both passed away, the farm sat vacant for nearly a decade without any other family members interested in farming.

Eventually, I went off to college, but by the time I graduated, I just wanted to be back at my happy place – the farm, where time passed slower and life seemed more gentle. In the fall of 2017, I moved into my great grandparents’ farmhouse, originally built in 1902. The next spring, I started my first garden and began to dream of one day selling at farmer’s markets.

My love of plant-based medicine has been long-standing, but my curiosity about the legal cannabis industry really began when I had the opportunity to spend a summer helping out on a friend’s cannabis farm in Michigan. I witnessed multi-generational family farms being saved and saw how many individuals used cannabis as a form of relief thanks to Michigan’s legal cannabis industry.

I was completely inspired but felt frustrated at my home state’s prohibition laws against this medicinal plant. I couldn’t help but think back to close family members who had passed from cancer and other ailments and who would have greatly benefited from cannabis if they had had access to a legalized industry at the time. Unfortunately, without legalization, I wasn’t sure how to pursue my cannabis farm dream, so I continued growing vegetables and working jobs off the farm as well.

In December of 2019, I had a spinal fusion at the age of 25. After many months of painful recovery, I was ready to find a medicinal solution that didn’t involve pain medications to help me manage my day-to-day. I had heard great things about CBD, which had been recently legalized in TN by the 2018 Farm Bill. One spring morning while leaning on fence posts, my neighbor and I had a discussion about his brother who had grown an abundance of hemp in his first grow.

I was completely enthralled, so we partnered up and I created my first ever CBD Balm. I’ll never forget my first time using it. I rubbed it all over my back right before bed and within 30 minutes I knew I had a product that I 100% believed in and wanted to share with others. This began my own CBD line of handmade products created from locally grown hemp.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think there’s a single business owner out there that would tell you it’s been a smooth ride into the cannabis industry! Due to federal prohibition and the constant change of state laws, it has been incredibly difficult to start a small cannabis business.

We’ve struggled with payment processors deciding not to process our payments, website hosts dumping us (which is exactly what happened recently but don’t worry we’ll have another one soon!), banks often refusing to work with us, and sometimes we get denied entry into farmer’s markets.

In the cannabis industry, many of us wake up and the first thing we do is check to make sure the laws haven’t changed and that we’re still able to sell our products. It’s a new industry, and the framework is still being laid out.

My biggest hope is that Tennessee will fully legalize cannabis, including both hemp and marijuana, and that the regulations/fees will still allow for small family farms like ours to participate in the industry.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At The Green Farmacy, we specialize in two things: Plant medicine and regenerative agriculture.

We’re known for our handmade Full Spectrum CBD products including oils, topicals, and pet treats. The difference between our small-batch, handmade products versus mass-made cannabis products could be compared to the quality of your grandmother’s homemade apple pie over a store-bought one.

We grow and process our own hemp, and we do it without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or toxic chemicals. We believe in working alongside nature – not against it. What I am most proud of is continuing the pursuit of my dream to be a cannabis farmer despite the difficulties that have arisen.

It has been a great honor to continue the legacy of my family’s fifth-generation farm, and I believe it is our deep roots here in Tennessee that sets us apart the most. I still have customers that drop by our farm stand and tell me they were friends with my great grandparents, and that’s something very special to me.

What matters most to you? Why?
I am most passionate about educating others on the benefits of medicinal plants and farming in a manner that doesn’t hurt the earth but instead regenerates it.

Monocrop farming (corn, soybeans, tobacco) involves heavy pesticide usage, heavy tillage (which releases carbon into the atmosphere), and large machinery that requires lots of diesel. Regenerative agriculture focuses on reversing climate change, promoting biodiversity, and improving soil health, which ultimately improves our own health as well!

What matters most to us is creating high-quality, handmade cannabis products from our own locally grown hemp to help empower individuals in their own health journeys.

Pricing:

• CBD oils (500mg – $30, 1000mg – $50)
• 20mg Pet treats ($10), 500mg Pet Oil ($30). 100mg Raw Paw Balm ($20)
• 300mg Balms $30 available in Original, Deep Relief, Good Night
• 10mg Delta 8 Lemonade $7/cup available only at select markets only
• 20mg Delta 8 Lollipops $6, Delta 8 hemp flower 1g – $10, 3.5g $30
• We also offer pre-rolls for $10

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegreenfarmacyllc/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ollieandgrace4hemp