Leslie Hoffman, Entrepreneur Pioneer in Sustainability and Cultivation

Published: Sept. 11, 2020, 5:49 p.m.

Leslie Hoffman, Co-Founder at Asheville Hemp Project, a farm-based hemp company cultivating plants and making products to share the relaxing and focused-activity benefits of cannabis in a variety of forms joins Enterprise Radio.
Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Leslie Hoffman discuss the following:



* Tell us about your start in sustainability? How did it come about? 
* Where did you see an opportunity for you to go into business in agriculture and sustainability? 
* How did you create Asheville Hemp Project? Tell us why Asheville, NC inspired you?
* How has new hemp laws has helped cultivate new industries in Asheville?  
* Your company launched a product line earlier this year. Can you tell us more? 
* What business advice would you give others? 




Leslie Hoffman is a pioneer in the field of sustainability. She holds a degree in architecture and design and worked as a carpenter and green builder for ten years before joining Earth Pledge Foundation as executive director (1994-2010). Hoffman spearheaded six core initiatives at Earth Pledge, including Green Roofs, Farm to Table, and Waste=Fuel, FutureFashion. 
EP published six books on sustainability, and was named an Environmental Achiever by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its work to identify and promote innovative techniques and technologies that restore the balance between human and natural systems.
Leslie lives on Shelter Island, NY and in Asheville, NC, and has been passionate about gardening and farming since 1979. Hoffman runs Asheville Hemp Project with her scientist partner Scott Brinkley on a 23-acre farm property outside of town.
Activities in Cannabis
Hoffman supported drug policy reform through philanthropy starting in 1995, after learning about the history of maligning Cannabis since the 1930’s. She was a partner in a hemp fashion company called IZM, 1996-1998, and managed an exit when Woody Harrelson bought all of their inventory. In 2015, Leslie purchased 23 acres of farmland outside of Asheville, NC, and later that year sold her Hawaii farm. She was one of the first participants in the NC Hemp Pilot Program, starting in 2017. Since 2015, Leslie has also been involved in a NJ vertically integrated medical marijuana business.
Asheville Hemp Project (AHP)

Asheville Hemp Project is a farm-based hemp company cultivating the plants and making products to share the relaxing and focused activity benefits of cannabis in a variety of forms. We use organic and regenerative farming practices, and modern manufacturing standards to deliver products that are safe, natural, and effective. On the farm, we are basically a low-tech operation, utilizing mostly hand labor and the traditional drying barns that remain from the golden age of tobacco in North Carolina. We aim to share the value of our careful and traditional approaches, and a connection to a natural lifestyle. We deliver on the expectations of today’s customers, using select quality hemp, the highest manufacturing standards, and safe and convenient packaging.
The company tagline is “Take a Moment: Look Inward, Look Outward, Look Homeward.” Thomas Wolfe wrote Look Homeward, Angel about Asheville in 1929, and AHP has taken home to reference not only a safe physical place, but also a calm, restful, comfort that we all need. Hoffman is passionate about providing cannabis products that soothe and satisfy and provide an aid in these stressful times.

Website: https://ashevillehempproject.com
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