Landrace.Wiki:About

Landrace.Wiki is a collaborative, open-access reference platform for documenting and conserving traditional cannabis landrace varieties worldwide. It provides field-verified documentation of landrace populations, their geographic origins, traditional cultivation practices, and the threats they face.

The project is operated by the Zomia Collective, an independent research and conservation organisation specialising in traditional cannabis genetics. The platform is built on MediaWiki with Semantic MediaWiki, enabling structured data storage, advanced querying, and community contribution. For more on the technical platform, see our MediaWiki page.

Why This Exists

Traditional cannabis landraces are disappearing at an accelerating rate, driven by prohibition enforcement, agricultural modernisation, genetic introgression, and generational knowledge loss. No comprehensive, publicly accessible, scientifically rigorous database of these varieties exists. Landrace.Wiki aims to fill that gap. For the full rationale behind this project, see our mission statement.

What We Document

Geographic Hierarchy

Landrace cannabis populations are organised using a seven-level geographic hierarchy, from broadest to most specific:

Level	Name	Example
1	Gene Pool	South Asia
2	Regional Complex (optional)	Hindu Kush–Himalayan
3	Growing Region	Western Himalayas
4	Growing Area	Parvati Valley
5	Appellation	Malana Valley
6	Field	Rasol 'Parla Thatch' Field
7	Accession	ZOM-2023-IN-HP-015

Every documented accession can be traced through its full geographic context, from the specific field where it was collected up to the gene pool it belongs to. This precision matters for conservation assessment and for distinguishing distinct populations from marketing labels.

Accessions

The fundamental unit of the database is the accession: a documented collection event from a specific location with full provenance data. Each accession records geographic coordinates, elevation, administrative boundaries, collection details, botanical descriptions, photographic documentation, cultural context, and conservation status.

Accessions are classified by documentation tier:

• Tier 1 – Full documentation with verified GPS, photographs, and botanical description
• Tier 2 – Basic documentation with location and collector information
• Tier 3 – Historical or referenced documentation without direct verification

We distinguish clearly between documented varieties (those directly verified through fieldwork) and known varieties (those referenced in literature or community knowledge but not yet independently confirmed). This distinction is central to the project's credibility.

Country Pages

Country pages provide historical and legal context for cannabis in each nation, integrating primary source research (colonial archives, ethnobotanical literature, diplomatic cables, local media) to trace how traditional cannabis cultures developed and how prohibition has affected them. These pages prioritise original research over secondary sources, and all claims are referenced.

Research Methodology

Landrace.Wiki prioritises primary source documentation:

• Field verification – Accessions are documented at the point of origin wherever possible, with GPS coordinates, elevation data, and photographic evidence collected on site.
• Archival research – Country pages draw on colonial archives, academic ethnobotany, government records, and diplomatic documents, often in their original languages. Sources are cited with specific page numbers and URLs where available.
• Farmer knowledge – Traditional cultivation practices, local nomenclature, and selection criteria are recorded directly from the communities that maintain these varieties.

Field reports produced by the Zomia Collective and its partners serve as the primary published record of collection expeditions. These are cited on the wiki as source literature, maintaining a clear separation between the wiki platform and the documentation it references.

For our principles on open access, farmer safety, documentation transparency, and source rigour, see our mission statement.

How to Use This Site

Landrace.Wiki serves users at different levels of engagement:

• Casual browsers can start with the main page to explore by region, or check Current Events for the latest enforcement, policy, and research developments.
• Growers and practitioners will find cultivation details, environmental context, and community-contributed grow reports on accession pages. Browse by growing region or conservation status to find varieties of interest.
• Researchers can use country pages for cited historical analysis, full provenance chains on accession data, and queryable semantic properties through the wiki's structured data system.

How to Contribute

Landrace.Wiki is a wiki, and contributions from the community are essential.

• Document an accession – Add new varieties using our standardised templates
• Submit a grow report – Share your cultivation experiences with landrace varieties
• Submit a smoke report – Characterise the effects of landrace varieties you have encountered
• Edit and improve existing pages – Correct errors, add references, expand sections
• Translate content – Add local language names, traditional nomenclature, and regional knowledge
• Report threats – Document eradication campaigns, habitat loss, or other risks to landrace populations

All contributions are subject to editorial review. See our contribution guidelines for standards and formatting.

About the Zomia Collective

The Zomia Collective is an independent research and conservation organisation focused on the documentation, preservation, and study of traditional cannabis genetics. The collective conducts field research across South and Southeast Asia, maintaining partnerships with local farming communities, research institutions, and conservation organisations.

The name Zomia references the highland regions of mainland Southeast Asia, historically autonomous zones beyond the reach of centralised state control. It reflects the project's focus on traditional practices maintained outside formal institutional frameworks.

Landrace.Wiki is the Zomia Collective's primary public platform for sharing documentation and research. The wiki is open to contributions from researchers, growers, and community members worldwide. The Zomia Collective provides the core field documentation, editorial oversight, and technical infrastructure.

Contact

For questions, partnership enquiries, or to report issues with the site, contact the team through the Zomia Collective website.