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The Exodus Collective: History of UK Cheese

pollen

Member
The Exodus Collective: History of UK Cheese

Say the word Cheese and most growers will understand exactly what people mean...a specific type of clone only cannabis. Mention the word Exodus however and most people will think of a chapter in the bible and not the Free Party movement which helped fashion the future of cannabis culture in the UK during the early 90’s

The Exodus collective were a group of like minded people from Luton England. The Exodus Collective openly campaigned for the immediate legalization of cannabis during the late 1080’s into the early 1990’s. As part of their campaign for a sane drug policy the exodus collective challenged the criminalization of cannabis by openly smoking and growing cannabis.
The exodus collective also helped spearhead the underground Rave Scene in the early 1990’s by organizing free rave party once monthly. A unique feature of the exodus collective and exodus raves was the NO DEALING policy which was strictly adhered to at events. So much so when undercover police finally infiltrated the raves they found no evidence of drug dealing they could act upon. One police officer actually praised the exodus collective or there sensible approach to drug use. The Exodus Collective also managed there own ‘Fair Trade policy at events’. The collectives own price policy ensured that no one was making excessive profits from the sail of food and drinks at the parties.
Following a series of Free Partys several plots of farmland were occupied. An abandoned hotel, and empty warehouse and so on. The idea was to clean up the local neighbourhood a series of community projects. The land became known as HAZ manor (Housing Action Zone).
UK cheese
The exact origin of cheese is hotly debated by cheese fanatics online. Some suggest that it desends from a packet of Skunk#1 by sensi-seeds others indicate that it came from a packet of skunk#1 from sacred seeds. All do agree however that cheese is a clone of skunk#1 from the 19 80’s.

During this time sam the skunkman who is accredited as the original breeder of skunk#1 had moved from California to Holland to grow weed. Here Sam was still breeding his Skunk#1 line. Sams skunk was called skunk because it omitted a strong pungent smell when grown or smoked. Similar to that given off by a skunk. Growers in Holland loved sams skunk because it yielded more and finished sooner then other strains at the time.
The only problem was the smell!! Landlords were reporting growers and people were busted all over. Sam the skunkman intestinally bred out the smell in favour of a sweeter smell Over the next few generations the skunk smell was intestinally lost.

The Exodus collective obtained a packet of seeds before these changes took place. The seeds were sown out and cuttings were taken. The clones were freely distributed among the collective.
On flowering out one of the plants the collective discovered it had a very special smell. Folklore suggests that there was a slight panic to fint a cutting still in veg so genetics could be preserved for later. Further investigation found that an old lady still had a few plants growing on her bathroom window. She said it smelt like cheese.

For many years after cheese clones were distributed freely as gifts from the exodus collective. Grateful home growers still distribute the original cheese to home growers for free.
 

daddy fingaz

Active member
I used to have the 'hotline' for the exodus raves about 10 years back, knew a few of their 'regulars', they used to hold raves all round north herts/ beds / bucks area including the end of luton airport runway! i did smoke back then but didnt grow, oddly the strain i can remember people talking about that sticks in my mind was jack herer and not cheese!!??!!
 

Jnugg

Active member
Veteran
hmmmmm...Damn you Sam.....When I first started smoking herb I was getting Skunk #1 for $25 U.S. an 1/8th oz. that shit was so skunky funky,it really smelled like someone put a dead skunk in the bag or like a skunk found the grow and sprayed his stuff all over it.That shit has been gone for a looong time now and I have been searching for it for quite some time....looks like it is gone forever:mad::frown:

The first time I had some bud someone called Cheese bud was back in the late 90's early new millenium and that shit had a low odour but what an odour,smelled like a mix between cat piss and dirty old gym shorts....kind of like what this clone only strain is supposed to smell like no?


I sure wish someone would bring back that funky skunky skunk:kissass::bow::puppydoge
 

~fvk~

the Lion is going Guerrilla...
So what's a well known strain that the Dutch were using before Skunk? Being that most Dutch genetics have skunk in them. Read a lot about the history, just don't see that mentioned much, if at all.
 
D

Dalaihempy

I rember when the cheese first showed up and it was infact sk1 from sinsi seeds.

I dont know about the rest of you but i have a real probleam with any who change the name of a line then hype the liveing christ out of it.

The original sk1 pic called cheese has yet to be reproduced by any one growing it im not trying to be a basterd here but lets be a little honest and real for a change ha.

Skunk came in many forms right threw the 80s i rember many diffrent skunk lines but 2 that stand out in my memory 1 was wat i belive sam calls the sweet tasting sk that was a lite green and leaning more to the sat sede had orange hairs and the 2nd one was an almost black coloured flower that was very leafy indica looking both very good yet both diffrent and both stunk infact most if not all the sk lines i rember stunk so bad you had trubble covering the oder on you if you had a small flower of it in a zip bag.

Sk is avaluble and has been for years i am amazed that people even after they know cheese is sk1 still carrie on as they do and seek it out rather than sort out some good sk1 seeds and select there own plants.

To many in this community seam to have a need to feel importent im sad to say i had to larf at a natinal geographic special called inside marijuana were they sed the uk had the strongest cannabiss being sk or cheese lol.

Sk1 is a good line many liked it and still grow it and with some effert and selection very nice plants can be found and some yield very big in green houses and why its used by commercial growers if you think you cant find a good sk line then your not looking.
 
K

kopite

Sk is avaluble and has been for years i am amazed that people even after they know cheese is sk1 still carrie on as they do and seek it out rather than sort out some good sk1 seeds and select there own plants.

Have you been thru SK1 and found anything that resemble "cheese" ?

Kopite
 
K

kopite

The Exodus collective obtained a packet of seeds before these changes took place. The seeds were sown out and cuttings were taken. The clones were freely distributed among the collective.
On flowering out one of the plants the collective discovered it had a very special smell. Folklore suggests that there was a slight panic to fint a cutting still in veg so genetics could be preserved for later. Further investigation found that an old lady still had a few plants growing on her bathroom window. She said it smelt like cheese.

The Exodus crew did not obtain the seeds they were given a cut.... it was passed via a friend of a friend.....
 

daddy fingaz

Active member
I dont know about the rest of you but i have a real probleam with any who change the name of a line then hype the liveing christ out of it.
.

..how many seeds banks have done this exact thing mate, Exodus never did anything for monetary gain!

i think your missing the point, cheese isnt a strain, just a keeper pheno of SK1, what do u think all these 'elite' clones are!?

doesnt sound like uve tried real cheese, you go and buy some sk1 seeds now and find the best pheno u can, yes there will be some nice ones no doubt, but you'l be lookin along time to find another cheese!:joint:
 

DocLeaf

procreationist
ICMag Donor
Veteran
We also keep hearing over that Exodus got the cut off a Luton grower... :D

Dalaihempy : Cheese is just a nice specimen of Skunk #1 dude... yields small :canabis:
 
D

danny karey

I think alot of people have tried to find a "cheese pheno" in skunk seeds, but I think Sensi seeds sucks balls now so anyone looking to find a nice skunk is SOL. Even flying dutchman sucks since sensi seeds took them over. (ive bought both and was very dissapointed)

I know people keep saying " well lets get a bunch of sensi seeds skunk" or whatever, but I don't think there gonna find shit. Especially since I heard the cheese was found in '89 sensi skunk seeds...........The skunk that was bred than is alot different than now.

My .02

Danny
 

Elevator Man

Active member
Mentor
Veteran
I'm still amazed at the fuss about Cheese - none of my friends who got the cut still grow it, and I only ran it twice. It just seems 'standard' smelly weed to me, and one of the least interesting of that 'family' of clone-only strains that have been around for decades (the blues, mystery strain, psychosis, etc.) - fast-flowering, hard pinecone buds, sativa-leaning leaves and very branchy.

In its favour, I found it less stoney than the blues, with more of an up high, but other than that, not much to write home about. However, many of those other 'strains' have similar mystery origins, and may well all have emanated from Luton, but they were around a lot longer than Cheese, which was the most recent. I was buying the blues and mystery strain in '93, and never even heard of Cheese here until around maybe '99.

As for the seedstock, it's quite likely that Sunlight Systems in Leicester were the supplier, rather than Sensi direct - SS were trying to trademark 'Skunk #1' and other names a long time ago - possibly as a front for Sensi, but possibly not.
 

DocLeaf

procreationist
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Yo Elevator Man,, i'm feeling that,,, Cheese is nice,, but the hype-vibe son wears thin... and it really pisses the neighbors off :biglaugh: Exodus interests us more,,, anyone got any links or info. on the new movement (Leviticus)?:rasta:
They had a good thing rolling,, :canabis:

Cheese is still a nice plant for breeding skunky strains with man.. even thought about doing a spin with it myself recently,, (still got the bug),, at least we know what to expect from cheese in the hybrids :yes:

As for the seedstock, it's quite likely that Sunlight Systems in Leicester were the supplier, rather than Sensi direct - SS were trying to trademark 'Skunk #1' and other names a long time ago - possibly as a front for Sensi, but possibly not.

Ouch,, just like this ,, (shame on dem) :



7253sunlight2.JPG



Btw ,, sunlight systems was just a fledgling of 21st Century Gardens, N. London :canabis:


Also,, if ONE man dem lay claim pon Skunk #1 it's SAM the Skunkman!

(he's a mod. here folks so pls show some credit / respect / mindfulness)

Like it or loath it,, 'Cheese' is here to stay I reckon,, :joint:

It's "old-school ,, like a real pair of hippies flares" [chester p]
 

Elevator Man

Active member
Mentor
Veteran
There you go - that's the one! I used to have a photocopied list also with their growlamp logo on the front. Memories...:)

And notice Skunk #3 listed down there? Is that possibly one of the early 'RKS' varieties that got dropped? What if that's the line that Cheese came from, rather than #1? Would explain why no-one seems to be able to replicate it from #1.
 

DoubleJ

Member
I'm still amazed at the fuss about Cheese - none of my friends who got the cut still grow it, and I only ran it twice. It just seems 'standard' smelly weed to me, and one of the least interesting of that 'family' of clone-only strains that have been around for decades (the blues, mystery strain, psychosis, etc.) - fast-flowering, hard pinecone buds, sativa-leaning leaves and very branchy.

Bear in mind the average UK smoker doesnt have anywhere near the range of genetics you have access to.

That, and the fact that Cheese seems to keep that trademark funk, even if grown poorly and not dried/cured properly, could account for the hype.
 
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