Inside The Sisters of the Valley (2017)
Read and view on Refinery29: “Meet The Sisters Of The Valley: California’s Cannabis-Growing, Medicine-Making Outlaw Nuns”
The Sisters of the Valley farm is a one-acre plot wedged in California’s sprawling, agriculture-rich Central Valley, about 10 miles outside of the city of Merced’s limits. On first glance it looks a lot like the other farms in the area, those that grow almonds, carrots, blueberries, and other wholesome crops. A narrow, worn-out asphalt road sandwiched between two enormous almond groves leads to an idyllic plot; there’s a garage-turned-greenhouse and two light blue ranch houses: one where the farmers live and eat, and one known as “the abbey” that serves as the base of business operations.
But this farm isn’t in the business of nutritious fruits and vegetables: it’s in the business of weed. That garage greenhouse is actually a brightly lit grow room housing young cannabis plants, and the abbey is where workers process those plants into “medicine.” Every room on the farm is imbued with the sweet, earthy smell of marijuana.
Full story on Refinery29, published April 20, 2017
Producer, DP, narrator: Jacki Huntington
Editor: Cory McKenna
Executive Producer: Refinery29