Apr 2019
Article April 2019 La Dolce Vita English version
Title; The Father of Seedbanks, Nevil Schoenmakers died March 30th 2019, and will be forever a legend in the Cannabis World.
Nevil Schoenmakers (The Seedbank), along with Howard Marks (Mr. Nice) and Me, Scott Blakey (The Greenhouse Seed Company) were the founding partners of the old school seed company Mr. Nice Seedbank set up in 1998. I set up the Greenhouse Seed Company with my ex Dutch partner Arjan in 1994, while Nevil had set up The Seedbank in the 1980s, which later was to be renamed The Sensi Seed Bank when Ben Dronkers bought it…the rest is now history.
In 2016 Howard died after a battle with bowel cancer…now in 2019 March 30th Nevil also died from an infection after battling cancer and Hepatitis C for many years. I already miss them both dearly but I will never forget the history we shared and the fun we had on the way to cutting new paths in the Cannabis Industry.
When we all started our individual journeys, the Cannabis industry was illegal, undercover, and a sub-culture that most did not discuss if they were involve or active in it since everyone who knew could compromise the activity! How times changed and attitudes mellowed? Nonetheless, each one of us has had our experiences with the legal system in the days gone by which in some way shaped our futures individually.
Howard was a well known public figure who had the gift of the gab, and made a living giving shows after the illicit days of smuggling. What people may not know about Nevil is the type of person he really was to work with and to be around, as he was more affected by circumstances and stories in the early 1990s than either me or Howard.
Nevil was difficult to read at times and had a somewhat enigmatic presence, demanding seriousness and attention to detail in all he did. His passion for breeding was not only in Cannabis but he bred Budgies, Guppies to feed the birds, Sheep, Coy Carp and Horses. The problem was most of these animals took too long to breed and costs involved were extremely high. Since Cannabis was the quickest and cheapest to breed, Nevil concentrated on this aspect to be able to achieve goals in realistic time frames. I was involved in breeding all my life and when I came to Holland in 1990, and linked up with Nevil we began a long and successful working relationship that changed the course of modern day Cannabis strains used for mainly recreational purposes, at this stage.
I recall one day in Nijmegen when we were in the greenhouse with all the tanks of Coy Carp at different ages….and Nevil turned to me and said he wanted to breed a Coy Carp like the Japanese flag …all white with a red sun in the center….at first I thought he was pulling my leg but he was deadly serious. When I asked why the Japanese Flag…he said that after visiting auction sites and breeding sites the highest value for Coy Carp came from Japan, where they value such fish…and would pay 25000 Euros for a fish like that….so I realized then and there this fish story was going to be an experience. Nevil`s persistence and determination edged him forward …his insatiable reading and devouring of facts and beginning at the highest genetic level possible, was always something important for him. He would locate the best or best known breeder for any of his projects and begin there.
In these days without science on our side we had to trust our own intuition and peers critics. The small clique of people we interacted with included people such as Robert Clark, George Cervantes, Ed Rosenthal, Mischka, Mila, Eagle Bill, Dave Watson, Ben Dronkers, Simone from Serious and so forth….all now people of substance in this flourishing industry.
In the 1980s while I was traveling around Asia/ South America and at University, Nevil open the first Seedbank ever to exist for Cannabis Seed…The Seed Bank. Nevil convinced the Dutch authorities to help him change from drug dependence to businessman and he pioneered the beginning of this evolutionary step in Cannabis Seed commercialism. Like Howard, Nevil was a charismatic professional in a chosen line of work that was unique and cutting edge for that time.
The 1990s was what I call the golden years of Holland, and in this time Nevil and I teamed up and we produced a lot of strains that set standards high in all niches of Cannabis. We were able to use the platform of the coffee shops to release these wares which included the Widow family, Haze family, NL5 series,G13 series, Skunk and Afghan hybrids and so forth….basically we set up many of the building blocks for modern day Cannabis strains.
Cloning changed the game for us and the future of all plant strains. Being in Holland with the mixture of high tech agricultural machinery and techniques added to the café society and lay-back-all-is-possible attitude was the setting of the time…We were young, free spirited and loved Cannabis and its diversity to a point we were all pushing each other to come up with something stronger and more aromatic than the previous…till we reached knock out point with THC strains. We won so many awards in these times and created a following and a new generation of avid breeders of Cannabis…world-wide.
Due to the lack of science in that decade, these strains we successfully introduced each year in the High Time Cannabis Cup via Coffee shops and came out of trial and error and our own opinions of what was worthy to breed with and what was in demand. These strains were a combination of work passed down to us from different corners of the world and from extremely dedicated people who spent their lives delving into finding the Holy Grail of Cannabis.
Funnily, both Nevil and I were Australians and Aquarians from opposite sides of the continent that both ended up in Holland doing what is still considered an illegal job in Australia to this day? But in Europe, USA and the rest of the world we became well known for the work we did and do in Cannabis. We needed to leave Australia to do what we did and do and this always bothered us both…and probably always harped on our subconscious. It was the point of not being understood and appreciated for doing a good job on something before its time, but the drive was stronger to achieve a goal than to explain, so in the 90s it was the freedom of Holland that won our hearts.
Nevil, Howard and I all shared traveling to faraway places to adventure into the unknown, meet extreme people and be given responsibilities most would turn their toes up to but we somehow managed to turn these events into positive advancements in all walks of life. We all shared unspoken mutual respect for each other and what we all did and achieved. It remained understated and calm within our group and we were all happy to create new things or feelings or moods not driven by only the money aspect but moreso by the true meaning to make something that never existed before…money always came when we hit that completely, and we all together and individually hit it on several occasions.
There was an unglamorous side to our work and we all passed through this. Nevil being the first to send seed worldwide created invisible enemies blinded by envy and motivated by greed and it took a toll on him over time. While Nevil got on with projects and tried to put the negative past behind him and focus on the positive future there were times when he fell into depression and suffered silently. He became reclusive on a few occasions, one being after the jail time in Australia in 1990 and the other in 2005 after finishing all his ties with Holland business…but he never stopped working.
Nevil had a few children with several partners over his life and he did his best to try and be a long distance father. I believe the distance eventually lead him back to Australia to be close to his family as he grew disenchanted with people and the industry in Europe.
When in 2007 I created the CBD crew and made the decision to go forward in to the medical side of Cannabis along with Howard, Nevil declined the offer and preferred to remain in Australia and work quietly on some breeding projects he never was able to conclude due to his illness. I have his old seed, his plants and his notes and in time will find people to pass things on to, as there is only so much time we all have on Earth that is the limiting factor.
Nevil loved the motto for Mr Nice Seed Bank, More Plants less People as he also chose some disappointing partners early on in his working life. Plants could always be relied upon, people less.
Nevil was exchanging seed with Dave Watson early on with skunk and Haze projects, and when they finished their projects together there was conflicting stories that arose from gossiping stoners…but no one should be too quick to believe anything as it was a different time. What Nevil and I always agreed on was that no matter what the story is, proof is in the seed and this will be the judge, ultimately for those who use our seeds.
It is not often to find people in your life that you look up to and feel equal in all respects to…but I can say I had the honor of two such gentlemen, Howard and Nevil, both very different people, but both wonderful professionals in an unprofessional world.
Nevil was a pioneer and forged a path many followed with love and passion to this day. He was my friend and confident and I will miss him and his unique prospective on the world of Cannabis. The world is a better place after having had the presence of Nevil Schoenmakers, a true pioneer and now legend in the world of Cannabis…RIP my dear friend….Shantibaba.
