Healing Waters Humboldt Known shows what it’s made of By Cassie Curatolo
ailments. Like-minded friends joined in his efforts, connecting him with resources and practices being implemented across the globe. Through extensive research, Kurtz landed on water as the best delivery method for CBD and its healing properties. “It’s what we’re made of, after all,” he said. After a crash course in the legalities of owning a hemp-based company, several years of developing processes, testing products, and fighting for legitimacy as a business, as well as some initial resistance from the city council, Kurtz and business partner Tim Bones set up shop in Fortuna in 2016. Humboldt Known was born and the rest is history. Kurtz seemed endearingly in awe of the company’s triumphs: “We didn’t mean for all of this to happen … we didn’t even mean to start a business, it just took off on its own.” Two things in particular make Humboldt Known stand out: its commitment to quality and its commitment to community. “We raised the bar for a lot of other CBD companies,” Kurtz said of their products and processes. He is a vocal advocate of continued CBD research and education and not shy to critique
29 INNOVATION
owner and operator of Humboldt Known, has his hands full. On the day he spoke with HCM, Kurtz was busy at the Humboldt Known factory in Fortuna, working on the production line, putting in the same love and labor that has consistently gone into the company since its inception. But later that evening, after respite from a long day of work, Kurtz was more than happy to share how Humboldt Known came into being and what makes it special. Many disparate things seemed to come together around the mid-1990s for Kurtz, bringing the earliest iteration of Humboldt Known into focus. As a self-proclaimed “water snob” and an employee of South Fork Mountain Water Co., Kurtz became interested in water system technologies and dreamed of owning his own operation. Around the same time, someone close to him was diagnosed with cancer and Kurtz started exploring the benefits of CBD and its potential as a wellness alternative. He believed that CBD could offer relief and comfort for those suffering from a variety of JEREMY KURTZ,
