Michael Rios

Suelo Vivo!

HOW SEAN ORTIZ, LATINO ENTREPRENEUR MODELS SUCCESS IN CANNABIS THROUGH LIVING SOIL

WORDS RACHAEL CARLEVALE PHOTOS JAKUB MATYAS, GABRIEL JIMENEZ

Equity for opportunity and access into the cannabis industry is paramount for Latinos, who disproportionately make up only 5.7% of business owners, according to the National Hispanic Cannabis Council. Puerto Rican, CO native Sean Ortiz, Co-Founder of Suelo Vivo, a regenerative hemp company and We Are One Farms, a regenerative-focused hemp farm, and bulk cannabinoid supply company, is a role model for Latinos seeking to enter the cannabis industry in which he has successfully risen. Ortiz feels lucky that his “hard work puts himself in alignment to maximize his opportunities as a minority.”

Determined to leave a legacy of diversity from the soil ecosystem to affordable cannabis access for all, Ortiz, who began cultivating cannabis at the age of 17, started his career in college, where he focused on becoming an Engineer. Ortiz studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was awarded the BOLD - Broadening Opportunities through Leadership and Diversity scholarship for women and minorities in engineering. Although he was looked down upon for consuming cannabis, he was adamant about changing the negative stereotypes of the plant and using his degree to demonstrate the massive medicinal, agricultural, and industrial benefits of the cannabis plant. He was invited to join the BOLD Program, where he would serendipitously meet his best friends, future co-founders, and future cannabis industry peers, who all will ultimately go on to later apply their knowledge to developing many companies that focus on solutions in regenerative agriculture, hemp, and in the cannabis industry.

Sean held a strict work ethic and created a company while at CU with his BOLD Scholarship engineering peers - IDAS dba Agtion - a microalgae company developed through the CSU venture accelerator that quickly transitioned into the agriculture space on finding that the best application for microalgae was in fact in agriculture as a soil amendment. The original aim was to capture waste co2 to cultivate microalgae for different purposes but fell upon the application of microalgae for benefits to soil health. They first tested their microalgal soil amendment on a corn crop, where they saw amazing benefits to the corn’s yield, soil, and quality. Through this, Sean realized that regenerative agriculture was the solution to many problems that face us all today and wanted to focus his life on helping to pursue this regenerative mission.

Ortiz, while at CU, was working at the Lab for Atmospheric

and Space Physics, designing satellites for space science missions, and decided to make a move to bring engineering minds to the agricultural landscape and to expand his experience in large scale no-till farming transitioning his passions to the indoor cannabis cultivation world with his first job at a vertically integrated cannabis company, Mindful. “The single best thing we can do as humans is to steward the soil, as that is our primary interface with this planet. Regenerating soil has the capacity to kill multiple birds with one stone, from a sustainability perspective, a silver bullet to capturing carbon, producing more, higher quality food and medicine, cleaner air and water; once I became conscious of this, I knew my purpose” Ortiz said. “The single best thing we can do He applies these principles in his as humans is to steward the soil, as that is our primary interface Suelo Vivo CBD retail business through building soil by cultivating in harmony with nature, mimicking with this planet. Regenerating her natural cycles to create soil has the capacity to kill closed-loop systems that support multiple birds with one biodiversity, ecology, and health. stone, from a sustainability His passion and drive are endless as he also started a hemp farm in perspective, a silver bullet to 2019, We Are One Farms, where capturing carbon, producing he supplies bulk cannabinoid more, higher quality food and ingredients to brands and medicine, cleaner air and water; manufacturers in the hemp space. “At the end of the day, it’s once I became conscious of all about affordable access. this, I knew my purpose” I don’t see the same access in the Latino communities that we have here. My goal is to steward the soil and bring affordable access to cannabinoids to those who need them. Reduce the taboo nature of cannabinoids, and bring light to the importance of regenerative systems and the healing that the cannabis plant can bring to the soil and us as humans to bring access to all of our brothers and sisters.” Puerto Rico is beginning to embrace hemp, and Ortiz’s next steps are to start some local operations there, where he is currently looking at potential farm sites. He plans to do something more significant in terms of how we can regenerate soil at scale - a larger project to enable this regenerative work to happen beyond just the acreage he can touch with Suelo Vivo and WAO Farms. “I’m incredibly grateful for where I am today and for the support I received as a minority pursuing STEM, ultimately that support put me where I am today if this is a desirable outcome, which I believe it is we need to do everything we can to support these programs” Ortiz noted of his educational roots. For other minorities looking to make their mark with the cannabis plant, Ortiz advises to “work hard, ask questions, stay curious, pursue passion, and keep following the path in front of you. It might just take you to the perfect dream situation.”