The Kootenay Quality Badge

Collaboration is our secret to quality. A rising tide lifts all ships.

Building the Kootenay Standard

After listening to our grower and producer community, one priority stood out: creating a badge that signals quality and reflects the values that have shaped the Kootenay cannabis legacy.

The Badge represents a commitment. It was built through ongoing collaboration between local producers and other industry stakeholders. Through surveys, meetings, and one-on-one conversations, we shaped a program to honour our local growers with multiple levels of certification.

We’re now rolling out the first stage: the Company-Level Badge, designed to showcase businesses that uphold the Kootenay Quality Standard.

Checklist for Annual Certification:

  • Operating as a licensed producer or processor within the West Kootenay (RDCK and RDKB boundaries) 

  • Ethical employment requirement: 80% local employment + living wage of minimum $25/hr. 

  • Majority (51%+) of products grown in the West Kootenay 

  • At least one sustainability practice (e.g., sun-grown, renewable energy, water recycling, LED lighting, organic fertilizers, living soil, regenerative practices, recycled materials, local inputs, no waste, etc).  

  • A pledge to uphold regional culture and values: legacy involvement, collaboration with long-standing growers, alignment with craft, quality, and community. 

Minimum Quality standards: 

  • Maximum annual yield per site of 3,000 kg

  • Hand harvested, hang dried, hand trimmed, and hand packaged  

  • Minimum 21-day cure time (from harvest to package date). 

  • Minimum 20% total cannabinoids