Leonardo Sousa: “It is literally the self-sufficiency of a country that is behind here, on almost all levels”

At 31 years old, Leonardo Rodrigues Sousa has stood out as one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the industrial hemp sector in Portugal and, possibly, one of those who has contributed most to significant changes, from the countryside to the Assembly of the Republic. With a store in Covilhã, cultivation in Meimoa, in Penamacor, and, more recently, on São Miguel Island, in the Azores, Leonardo is one of the biggest promises for industrial hemp in Portugal.

Born in Castelo Branco, Leonardo Sousa founded in 2021 and is currently the CEO of Lynx – Hemp Products, an organic hemp-based products company. Cultivated in Meimoa, in municipality of Penamacor, and a store in Covilhã, Leonardo is also a staunch supporter of sustainability and environmental preservation, using every means at his disposal to share his passion for hemp and his commitment to encouraging a circular, local and organic economy.

We went to visit the Lynx Hemp plantation and took the opportunity to learn more about the journey and motivations of this young entrepreneur, recognized for his educational contribution and knowledge in the hemp area.

Leonardo, how much do you have planted here?
2,5 hectares. 

And for what purpose are you producing?
Seed and fiber. With the seeds, I want to see if I can make a food flour, mixed with wheat, which is more protein than wheat flour alone. Fiber, I want to see if I can develop more prototypes with the university, both bioplastics, fabrics and paper.

Leonardo Sousa in his store, Lynx Hemp, in Covilhã, where he has a small library for customers to consult. Photo: Laura Ramos | CannaReporter

I know you are already collaborating with the University of Beira Interior (UBI)…
In 2022, I sold them a few kilos of stems of hemp, which they purchased for the fashion department, to develop a new sustainable materials course, which opened the following year. Meanwhile, I went there to give a lecture on electromechanics, about the uses of hemp in their area, both in construction, car insulation, rocket insulation, bioplastics, 3D printers with hemp filaments... I talked a bit also from Harrison Ford's car, which was not 100% hemp, but which contained hemp and they were delighted. They didn't know that you could use the plant to do something other than smoking. After that, I organized a debate with the UBI Economics Student Center, to which I invited Miguel Costa Matos [PS deputy], a representative of the Liberal Initiative, Humberto Nogueira [businessman], Marta Vinhas [from Sensi Hemp ] and Elad Kaspin [from Cânhamor], to discuss the opportunities that Portugal has with industrial hemp. The idea was not to focus so much on cannabis, but rather on agricultural fields that are abandoned, and it was very productive, both academically and in terms of what the deputy learned (or relearned) in that session.

We are here in Meimoa, near Penamacor, but you live in Covilhã, where you also have your store. What has the relationship been like with the authorities and the local community?
I have had good relations, both with the GNR of Penamacor and the GNR of Covilhã. The Covilhã PSP visited me right at the opening. It was more out of curiosity and they really liked the project and what they saw. I try to make my store a space that people can come to at any age, without being afraid of what the plant is. This is because a lot of people hear “cannabis” and “hemp” and immediately think of another world, but when they enter my store they see a wall made of hemp and the person stares at it: “May I ask? Don't I ask? Why does he have a block here in the middle of the store?” And before they ask, I say: “This is cannabis”, and they say: “No… you can't, I don't believe it…” I have fabric there, I show them, “This is 100% cannabis”. The person touches it and says “So, this is better than cotton! Why aren’t we using this?” We already use it! I take a book off my shelf (I like to have several books on the subject to show people) – 1945, Portugal, at the time of Salazar, it was only hemp in Portugal. At that time, for example, 10.000 people worked making hemp shoes and laces, just to give one example. And, especially older people, when they hear this, they are shocked, because they were young at the time and had no idea that something so natural would be exchanged for materials that today are making our planet the way it is. that is. 

“The Covilhã PSP visited me right at the opening. It was more out of curiosity and they really liked the project and what they saw”

Do you think there is interest, here in the region, in hemp cultivation?
Yes a lot. When I came here, I came to one of the worst areas in terms of soil quality, soil acidity, organic matter... Exactly for that reason, to show those who have a better land or those who have land and means, that this happens anywhere. It doesn't need anything more than a little manure and water. We don't need herbicides, we don't need pesticides and a person can grow seeds for human or animal consumption, we can make cellulose here, to replace eucalyptus trees (which have 30% cellulose, while hemp has 65%), we can make bioplastics, We were able to make bioethanol from hemp seeds, as they already do from corn in Brazil, among many other things. And, mainly, what I'm manufacturing here – hemp fiber, this could be feeding the abandoned factories of Covilhã, which was formerly known as Portuguese Manchester.

What is this story like? What were they doing?
It was the wool industry. Covilhã has always been closely linked to the wool industry, until, in the 60s, 70s and 80s, there were many industrial advances abroad. Portugal also joined the European Community at that time, the European, Community market, perhaps quotas appeared, I don't know the story very well, but many factories closed, because it wasn't worth producing here, it was worth ordering them from abroad. With hemp, it pays off to produce here again, because, in 90 days, a factory can produce its own raw material to make clothes, much more durable than cotton., for example. 

Leonardo began cultivating hemp in very arid land, in Meimoa, to prove that it was possible to do so with few resources. Photo: Laura Ramos | CannaReporter

In collaboration with the university, what are you already investigating?
At the moment, they are waiting for the seeds, because I promised to offer them a few kilos of seeds to do an extraction, to see if they can obtain bioethanol. This was for the university chemistry department. What I have already sold to UBI was for fashion, for testing on fabric and pigmentation.

And this production you have here, what are you going to do with it?
I want to see if I have an agricultural support warehouse here before the end of the year, because I have already ordered machines to clean the seeds. Then, the seeds, I want to work with them and put them on the market as food seeds. The stems, I will ask the university what they need. Whatever they need, I don't do much by selling it, I already told them that I give it, because this land still needs many years of cultivation, at least at my pace, of soil regeneration, to be able to produce in suitable conditions. . And we also needed something else, which was a decorticator here in the region, which we don't have. 

How much does a decorticator cost?
The cheapest decorticator would be 12.500 euros + VAT. 

And here, for example, couldn't regional entities finance it? Or a campaign through crowdfunding?
You could try, it was an idea to think about. I, by the way, until now have tried not to ask for help from the State, the government, the bank, anything. It's only now that, as the warehouse is being built, I asked the bank for help. But machines would be another case to consider. Maybe with a through crowdfunding or aid from the State. But I highly doubt it… for hemp, there is none. 

Do you think the State is not interested in hemp?
Currently, I don't think so, because otherwise they would be producing hectares and hectares of their own hemp. When a person realizes what they are producing here, and the amount of things they can do with it, if they don't produce it, it's because they can't do 1+1=2, because is, literally, the self-sufficiency of a country that is behind here, on almost every level.

Lynx Hemp production is intended for seeds and fiber. Photo: Laura Ramos | CannaReporter

For people who aren't very familiar, can you list what is done from hemp?
Between products and by-products, there are more than 25.000 applications, meaning it would take us a long time to list them. But, for example, with this part, which is the inner part (shiv), the part that has more cellulose, we managed to make biodegradable and highly durable, fireproof construction material, and what many people don't know is that the construction industry is the one that pollutes the environment the most. We were able to make paper, because there is a lot of cellulose, we were able to make plastic; With this part, which is fiber, we can make fabric, we can make insulation boards. For example, Mercedes, all C Classes, since 1994, carry 20 kilos of hemp fiber in the form of insulation. In 2019, in France, they built a house where, from the foundation to the decoration, 78% of the house was made with hemp. In terms of food, everything that is made industrially from a normal grain can be made from hemp, and it doesn't even need to be 100% hemp, it can be added just to have the nutritional properties that hemp has: 33% of protein, Omega-3, -6 and -9, 21 amino acids that we need for the body to function... it has good fats, grows quickly, locally, there is no need to import, we are not depending on other countries for the price of our bread increase. Hemp could be cultivated nationally, that's the whole point: we are cultivating something at which we were once the best.

Yes, Portugal has a great history with hemp.
We, until 1930, were the largest producers of hemp, because of our part in navigation: the sails were made of hemp, the oil they used to seal the ships, the ropes, the rigging, were made of hemp, the ships were forced to have bags of hemp seeds in stock so that, if they were shipwrecked, they would have material to sow, produce their own sail, produce their own arrangements and leave. Because in 90 days they had the raw material ready.

It was, in fact, a very important culture. Why do you think it stopped being used?
Synthetic fibers, oil, the paper industry… many industries were interested in ending hemp. What I try to show is that, with 2 hectares, which is a very small area, I can make a living here. How many thousands, or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people would not be able to work in the country depending on this? They were going to make a good life.

“There is no way not to wake up to life and see that this is the solution”

Do you think it could revitalize the country's interior and create more jobs?
Yes No doubt. Just the amount of things you can do with this! We are in Meimoa, which is where I farm, there are 200 people who live there. If a company opens 20 jobs, there are already 50 more people in the village. From one moment to the next the population increases by 25%, which, for a village like this, is great. Local businesses, minimarkets, cafes, restaurants, everything will increase. It is a circular, completely renewable bio-economy. 

Do you think this could also help the whole economic aspect?
Yes, it can help. When people start making money from this... At least, in my area, what I do is invoice everything and comply with that part, because that makes me have more credibility, it makes me show that it's a serious company. That's what I'm trying to do, I'm not here making money with the plant while it lasts. My profit comes from the land. I can make money and invest it in improving the land. 

Leonardo Sousa, from Lynx Hemp, on his hemp plantation in Meimoa, municipality of Penamacor. Photo: Laura Ramos | CannaReporter

But now you have another action taking place. Do you want to tell us a little about that?
A while ago, I had the idea of ​​buying land and planting trees, because I was using land here, which is agricultural land, but is close to a mountain and, as I was using this land, I wanted to plant trees elsewhere. I came across a situation, which was last year's fires in Serra da Estrela, and I spoke to Baldios de Verdelhos, who manage the burned or abandoned areas in the region. I would like to do a reforestation initiative with a company and what I agreed with them was: we have a hemp flower that is imported, certified and with less than 0,3% THC, which we call Queijo da Serra, because the variety I think it's Kompolti and it has traces of Royal Cheese, with a more cheese-like aroma, a more intense smell... what I did was use good marketing: “this flower has more cheese-like terpenes, I'm going to make the Cheese da Serra”. And it was a success, people liked it. So, I decided that, for every 10-gram bag of Queijo da Serra hemp that we sell, in store or online, or that we sell to a retailer, so that people can buy more locally, we will plant an indigenous tree, among oaks, strawberry trees, walnut trees and cork oaks.

This is a good initiative. Do you have any idea how many trees there will be?
For now, to get started with some guaranteed trees, we are cultivating 2,5 hectares of hemp and we are planting 200 trees per hectare. There are now 500 trees. We have a hemp cultivation consultancy client, who has another 2,3 hectares; there are another 460 trees, so 960 trees that we will plant just at the beginning. And now, depending on sales, we are expecting another 300 to 500 trees. We are talking about close to 1500 trees.
 
What is your biggest goal at this stage?
At this stage, if I managed to reach 10.000 trees planted, that would be incredible for now.

How much money will be needed? How much does each tree cost?
The trees come in four species and range from 5,5 to 75 euros. It's still a few thousand euros.

And your biggest goal in life, in the long term?
There are still some that I want to fulfill, but the biggest thing I think was to see society as a whole using this plant more. I have a view that is: the consumer is to blame for the choice, but when you have no choice, you are not to blame. It's like this: I have to buy that and I do, I have no other option. And, even when you're buying an option that you think is good, you're buying a cardboard package that comes from a gigantic eucalyptus forest. So, it's not the best option. Now, between making a raw material in 90 days, in which you are capturing more CO2 than the forest, consuming less water than cotton or corn, producing much more final products from the same raw material, there is no way not to wake up to life and see that this is the solution.

In relation to the ordinance that regulated hemp, what do you think would have to change to encourage this sector more?
Regarding the hemp ordinance, I think it is closing a lot, prohibiting a lot. It is very prohibitionist on the issue of [cultivation] area. I have people, every year, who ask me for help to grow hemp, who have 2 or 3 or 4 thousand m2, who want to grow it on their farms, but they can't, because they don't have the minimum of 5.000 m2.

Leonardo shows some seeds produced on his hemp plantation. Photo: Laura Ramos | CannaReporter

What other things do you think limit farmers on the ground?
The lack of infrastructure for hemp, but this is a vicious cycle. Why is the legislation prohibitionist? The land, the area that is cultivated, the 5.000 m2, if we look at agricultural land in Portugal, the percentage of it that is more than 5.000 m2 is small. Madeira and the Azores are completely isolated, unless someone has been there buying items, by the bushel (1 hectare is 28 bushels). There, people have 2 or 3 bushels of land, they don't have dozens. And especially here, in the interior, you have two or three families who have thousands of hectares and then you have half hectares, 1.000 m2, 2.000 m2… These people are completely excluded, they cannot produce hemp.

What would need to change, then, in the law?
Remove the points from the mandatory minimum area, the mandatory minimum density and the part of the greenhouses, which are not permitted. For example, if I want to develop a strain of Beirao hemp, I won't do it outdoors, I could do it in a greenhouse. But I can't, because I'm breaking the law. I cannot cross plants to carry out a study in a greenhouse, because the legislation does not allow growing hemp, at any stage, in a greenhouse.

Why can't it be done outdoors?
Because there are many more variables. Imagine that I now want to reproduce this plant because it is very good. I make a clone and reproduce it, with French hemp or Ukrainian hemp or English hemp, with the sun here, with the soil here, but never the impurities in the air, because if someone plants hemp behind the hill, cross-pollination doesn't just affect the medicinal one. The quality of that hemp will affect the quality of my hemp, which is why it is also very necessary to have a Portuguese variety, and that does not exist.

And do you think that with just a greenhouse we could develop a good Portuguese variety?
No, it had to be more than a greenhouse! (laughs) There had to be a few million euros of European investment, genetic research, laboratories… above my pay grade! (laughter)

Do you think that here, with UBI, if there was the right investment, it would be possible?
Yes, they have a good plant biology department, I took classes with many of them, biochemistry, and there is even a genetics project on native sheep nearby. It's not cannabis, but the project was also carried out by the university, through a master's degree, and was co-financed by the European Union.

“In South Africa, a 12-story hotel made of hemp was opened. It's not impossible. It's not that it's never been done, it's already been done! We are the ones who are being left behind”

If you could ask the government to do anything, what would it be?
It was an industrial hub. It was to see what is happening in Ukraine, in Cherkasy. In the Cherkasy region, they are creating an industrial hub with European funds and global funds to rebuild the country using hemp, from civil construction to food, plastic, fuel, everything. That's what they're doing. 

At the Lynx Hemp store, in Covilhã, Leonardo takes on the role of educating society about the health benefits and potential of hemp for the sustainability of the planet, with various informative materials available to customers. Photo: Laura Ramos | CannaReporter

And how much investment do you think was needed to do this here, in Covilhã?
They were talking about two hundred and something million euros there. But they have 2.400 hectares under cultivation and have production lines for a lot of things. In terms of civil construction, various materials, and food, they don't just clean seeds, they also make oils and more food products, they work with other supply companies that also make other products... 2.400 hectares is huge! Portugal, for example, last year cultivated 22 hectares across the country – mainland and islands.

What would be a good value to start with?
We started with the hemp part, with the land investment, and another 4.000 euros to buy the irrigation system second-hand, otherwise we were talking about 10 or 12 thousand euros just for the irrigation system. But the seeds are very cheap; for 2,5 hectares we spent around 600 euros on delivery (they came from France). The water will depend on the region of Portugal, the expense and cost, the manure, the more the better, and the limestone was just to maintain the pH. We added agricultural limestone, also certified, which cost 500 euros, I think, on the 2 hectares; it wasn't much.

And what income do you expect to obtain from the harvest?
This harvest, if I manage to get the store in time, I can still get two or three thousand euros worth of seeds. The straw, the shorter one, I will leave on the ground to fertilize the land and the longer one I will try to sell at 300 euros/ton, either to the university or to any company that is interested.

Are hemp bricks also a goal for the future?
I honestly don't know. Sell, yes, and it should be everywhere, start building everything now... imagine, if they gave a tax incentive to construction companies that built buildings in hemp. “Ah, it’s not possible, because it will fall.” In South Africa, a 12-story hotel made of hemp was opened. It's not impossible. It's not that it's never been done, it's already been done! We are the ones being left behind. Anyone who knows what is being left behind and sees that things are not changing gets angry, because it is difficult for one person alone to change something.

But you are already doing your part.
Yes. At least that. At least here in the region, I try to take care of it. What money I can spend here on renting tractors or paying local people to do the work, and also on planting trees, for example... the purpose of leaving it here in the region, I leave it.

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Laura Ramos

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With a degree in Journalism from the University of Coimbra, Laura Ramos has a postgraduate degree in Photography and has been a Journalist since 1998. Winner of the Business of Cannabis Awards in the category "Journalist of the Year 2024", Laura was a correspondent for Jornal de Notícias in Rome, Italy, and Press Officer in the Office of the Minister of Education of the 21st Portuguese Government. She has an international certification in Permaculture (PDC) and created the street-art photography archive “Say What? Lisbon” @saywhatlisbon. Co-founder and Editor of CannaReporter® and coordinator of PTMC - Portugal Medical Cannabis, Laura directed the documentary “Pacientes” and was part of the steering group of the first Postgraduate Course in GxP's for Medicinal Cannabis in Portugal, in partnership with the Military Laboratory and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon.

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