How Hemp Changed a Photographer’s Journey Through Europe

Maren Krings’s debut book, H Is for Hemp is a firsthand account of the world’s applications of the plant. The German environmental photographer was living out of her car in the late 2010s, trying to reduce her ecological footprint, when she began a four-year mission toward canna-consciousness.

Adjusting to life on the road was no easy journey until she found her calling, however.

Living a minimalistic lifestyle, Krings would use a single bottle of water to accommodate a full-body shower, keeping herself hydrated with whatever remained. But going as much as five weeks without washing clothes caused her to realize that synthetic materials start to stink quickly. Wool became her go-to material in the winter and hemp in the summer, as she found both were able to withstand longer periods…