Swiss Review 5/2021

Swiss Review / October 2021 / No.5 13 tioning a protest during his time in prison because his peers were not re- ceiving enough fruit. “We are de- prived of freedom, not dessert,” Rap- paz had declared. “He inhales smoke and blows it out as well,” continues the local history expert, setting the Bernard Rappaz saga within the curi- ous history of Saxon. Since the 1960s, this commune has been led by a party that came from the Union des produc- teurs valaisans (Union of producers in Valais). It set itself apart with its sup- port for union action against the in- flux of agricultural products from It- aly, against fluorine pollution and against the installation of hydroelec- tric plants on the Rhone River. In the 1970s, in need of workers for the har- vest, Saxon saw the arrival of the hip- pies. The Sapinhaut festival, which was created at this time, brought to- gether people who were against the military, the clergy, etc. “Everything that made conservatives in Valais bristle,” comments Bender. This is the setting in which Bernard Rappaz grew up. Withdrawal to Isérables The individual who claimed that can- nabis came somewhere between cof- fee and cigarettes is now living in a two-roomhome in the isolated village of Isérables, supported by his old-age and survivor’s insurance. His home offers an unobstructed view over the plainwhere, fromthe beginning of the 1990s, he began planting and distrib- uting cannabis. “The more THC there was, the better,” admits the Saxon na- tive, who still grows plants on his bal- cony. “The polite neighbours tell me I have beautiful geraniums,” he says. When he arrived in Isérables in 2016, Bernard Rappaz received a visit from the president of the municipality, suspicious of the individual. He began by telling himthat his carwaswrongly parked. Next, the local priest stopped by, accompanied by a sacristan. The men had a drink together, before leav- ing for mass. Since then, the ex-pris- oner has gained acceptancewithin the community. What does the former organic farmer think of CBD and the attempts to distribute marijuana? “I tried producing cannabis that was low in THC myself, but the profit margin was not high. InValais, a small portion of vineyards could be replaced by can- nabis. It’s a plant which grows easily andwithout plant protection products. Its production has to remain Swiss and natural.” Ten years in prison The hemp farmer highlights the prob- lemswith indoor cultivation, which is extremely energy-intensive. “I am go- ing to write to the Confederation to ask that cannabis grown for clinical trials be stamped as natural Swiss pro- duce,” he declares passionately. Does he miss the media spotlight? “For a supporter of Buddhism likeme, ego is the worst enemy,” he answers. What was his experience of prison? “I began at 19, for refusing to pay military tax. All in all, I must have spent ten years in prison. Prison is scary, because it’s the unknown, but I got used to it.” At the Crêtelongue prison in the Rhone valley, the farmer taught prisoners to prune fruit trees. The man has used hunger strikes as a weapon: “I beat all the records, not eating for 120days.” In his youth, BernardRappaz also partic- ipated in a raid on a bank. The result: 42 months in prison. On his farm in Charrat, named l’Oasis (the Oasis), the hemp farmer playedwith the ambiguities of the law. His hemp went out in the form of Not his first or last time in handcuffs: Bernard Rappaz on trial in Martigny in 2011. Archive photo: Keystone