Meet Tanya Simmonds: Founder of HempCentral
It all started when one of Tanya Simmonds’ dogs developed rheumatoid arthritis. A former paediatric nurse, Tanya had read about the potential benefits of CBD oil as a treatment option. Although she discovered that CBD oil isn’t available for pets in New Zealand, her research sparked an interest.
Tanya began attending conferences and meetings on the many other uses of the cannabis plant – including the industrial uses of hemp.
Hemp is different from marijuana in that it has much lower levels of THC (the primary psychoactive compound). It is legal to grow and use (provided THC levels are below 5%) and can be used to create a variety of products including rope, clothing, food, paper and even building materials.
Tanya’s now working hard on HempCentral, a startup based in Queensberry that supports growing and processing hemp to deliver a unique product that can be used in surprisingly versatile ways…
Tanya Simmonds with Jinene Clark speaking at a Startup Queenstown Lakes Event.
SQL: Tell us about HempCentral and what you’re doing currently
Tanya: Hemp’s use in the building industry has really sparked my interest and I’ve been doing a lot of reading around hemp building materials. I went to Australia to look at a hemp processing machine and about a year ago, I had one built in New South Wales and brought it over here.
The machine processes the hemp stalk into four different products. About 40-50% of that is hemp herd, which is mixed with a binder to create hempcrete, which can be used to build houses, blocks and insulated panels.
I’ve had to put the cart before the horse – I need to show others what can be done, that hemp is a viable crop and there could be a whole industry here.
SQL: How did you get involved with Startup Queenstown Lakes?
Tanya: Jinene from SQL is a friend of a friend and when we met, she told me about what she was doing and then contacted me to say: look, you really need to come on board with what we’re doing.
It’s a very new world to me. Although we ran a business in Wanaka years ago, it was an established business, not a start-up. And there’s a lot of stigma attached to hemp because people associate it with marijuana.
I’ve had a lot of work to do and SQL have been great. I’ve attended a few sessions and I ran one a couple of months ago which was really successful, I made a lot of connections.
SQL: How has this helped your business to grow?
Tanya: I’ve had a lot of support and a lot of guidance from Startup Queenstown Lakes.
They’ve helped me to focus on what I need to do first – I’ve got so many things going on that it’s easy to focus on the wrong thing.
SQL: So, what’s next for HempCentral?
Tanya: I need to establish my growers and have a good supply of hemp for the projects. I need to teach them why it’s a good crop – there’s great potential for a circular economy here in Central.
Once that is established, I’ve got to create classes about hempcrete building. Fortunately, I’ve met an amazing young architect who has done a course and she’s happy to come on board and help me.
I’m very interested in hemp blocks, and I’ve connected with a few people to explore how we can start making the blocks here in New Zealand. There’s a lot of really interesting stuff going on. I have a wonderful machine coming down and I’ve connected with some ladies who are heavily involved in the research of plant-based textiles. It sounds like I’m busy… I am busy! There are never enough days in the week.
SQL: Why did you decide to base HempCentral in the Queenstown Lakes?
Tanya: Because we already owned the land and the buildings in Queensberry. But it’s also a great place to grow hemp.
Cromwell’s not far and it’s a very good transport hub. So if we end up making lots here, we can send it out easily. We’d like to create a regional hub here.
SQL: How would you describe SQL in one word?
Can I use two? Igniting passion!
Story written by Startup Queenstown Lakes.