Growers come in all shapes and sizes. And all may have their various reasons and methods to keep their crops alive in various climates, both geographically and politically.
This New York Times piece details the poignant struggle of one grandmother in Swaziland, Africa as she tries to make ends meet.
“Without weed, we would be starving,”
PIGGS PEAK, Swaziland — After her daughters died, Khathazile took in her 11 orphaned grandchildren without hesitation. It is what a gogo, or grandmother, does in a country where the world’s highest H.I.V. infection rate has left a sea of motherless children.
Perhaps. But Khathazile has some insurance in case divine intervention fails: Swazi Gold, a highly potent and valuable strain of marijuana that is sought after in the thriving drug market of next-door South Africa. In a field deep in the forest, atop a distant hill in this arid corner of tiny Swaziland, Khathazile grows Swazi Gold to keep her growing brood of grandchildren fed, clothed and in school.