At Güd Gardens, An All-Woman Crew Is Focused on Community and Education

Location: Grants Pass

Signature Strain: Burmese Kush, an OG cross hybrid that farm owner Jessica Clements describes as "earthy and sweet." The strain gives users a therapeutic, relaxed and happy high.

Güd Gardens came to fruition on a massive sticky note in 2016. Jessica Clements, who has lived in Oregon for over a decade and has been farming cannabis since 2010, says she was brainstorming farm names with a friend after weed was legalized recreationally and she was allowed to expand her operation beyond medical. "We kept going back and forth," Clements says, "so I was joking and wrote 'Güd' and was like, 'It's a placeholder.' But ultimately, it stuck and we couldn't stop saying Güd." At Clements' 5.5-acre farm on the Rogue River in Southern Oregon, a core group of five, all-women workers strive to make community connections and education paramount. "This isn't just my business," Clements says of her farm. "This is my home, and I care so much about it. It's always been important for me to find ways to educate people about [cannabis], even to my neighbors and my community." Clements says the formation of an all-woman workforce wasn't necessarily intentional, it just happened because the women on the farm were the best workers. As farm operations began to ramp up and the company became a commercial venture, "we just kind of observed and watched the whole crew as they were working in the fields, and no joke, three or four of the girls ran circles around everyone else," Clements says. "They were so smart, so on top of it, making decisions on the fly and problem solving." But she adds that the farm is notably not a woman-only space. "I love female empowerment," she says, "but I don't want it to feel exclusionary." ELISE HERRON.

Where to find it: Belmont Collective, Portland Pot Shop, Tetra, Virtue Supply Company.