HempBuild Magazine: “Your GreenBuilt Revolution”
Upcoming Events
If you ‘ve heard about building with hemp and want to find out how to use these materials effectively and affordably then you want to attend this fun and practical two-day workshop.
Join us for our first-ever hempcrete workshop at Mud Dauber School! We’re really excited to welcome April Magill and Tim Callahan here to share their knowledge about how to construct with hempcrete, and to share about why hempcrete is such a great building material (in regards to its performance, the agriculture it supports, and the healthy living environment it provides).
What’s New
From afar, there’s little to suggest this worksite is not your typical build, but actually a first-of-its-kind project in Austin ... until you come closer and see the 400-pound bags of hemp hurd, sacks of lime powder, and a specialized hempcrete mixer.
Last week, the White House’s Climate office held a 3-hour round table discussion on developing a a framework for “zero embodied carbon” buildings.
A Colorado-based company is now distributing an Italian-based block system that can shave almost 25% off the costs on a hempcrete build, the founders say.
After years of efforts from USHBA volunteers and consultants, the governing body for national building codes in the United States released a residential building code that included hemp-lime (hempcrete) for the first time.
Hemp Voices
We’re currently working on a hempcrete project, permitted, ground-up, two-story residence in south-central Austin. This project required careful design to preserve many heritage trees on site.
“Investors like quick returns, while hemp projects are about legacy and support of future generations.”
Hemp-lime is essentially fireproof and pestproof, is vapor-permeable, and provides substantial sound attenuation and thermal resistance. No other material can do all that.
We build homes in harsh climates above 5000' elevation and fire-danger zones. Our clients report that their homes' performance exceeds expectations. And so I continue to be fascinated by hemp-lime's thermal and hygroscopic capabilities.
Vicarious Travels Videos
This is the adventure of making a dream come true: Building and inspiring a spiral hemphouse.
Staying true to his unique name, Wolf was far from the average person. He had a quiet demeanor, a sparkle in his eye, and an unruly beard that matched his personality. I was so excited to meet such a kindred spirit; my curiosity and passion for hemp were enhanced tenfold.
Welcome to Margent Farms! Living on the edge and off the grid, we travel next to the illustrious hemp farm of the internationally acclaimed film director, Steve Barron.
As Mark Twain said during his Grand Tour in 1867, “I travel to learn.” My name is Lilibet, and I welcome you on my European journey to finding the gems and pioneers of natural building techniques across the globe.
Archive
The US Army awarded a $1.9M grant to a Pennsylvania-based hemp-lime building company to partner with research institutions to study the fire resistance, thermal insulation value and carbon footprint of “hempcrete” in construction.
A second Vermont winter is in full swing as a New England couple awaits the completion of their hemp home on a former 235-acre dairy farm property outside of Bennington.
The new year, Sergiy Kovalenkov posted on LinkedIn, is starting with “a new chapter” for Hempire UA, as the building that houses their office near downtown Kyiv, Ukraine was hit by a Russian rocket on January 2.
The US Hemp Building Association this week announced a call for candidates for a special board election for two new at-large members to join the trade association’s board of directors.
We are developing next-generation construction materials derived from renewable resources. One such very prominent resource is hemp. Hemp offers a great opportunity to develop new local economies around it that span the agriculture, processing, manufacturing, and construction sectors
INTERVIEW: An author, teacher and consultant on ecological building, Steve Allin has been building with hemp and promoting hemp’s use in construction all over the world for more than 20 years.
A group of Tasmanian women hemp farmers ran a crowdfunding campaign this August raising over 1.5 million Australian dollars (about $1 M USD) from 900 investors.
A proverb says a lie can travel half way around the world before the Truth gets its trousers on. This is certainly more true in the internet age, especially with aggregated news gathering.
When construction is complete next April, the Lower Sioux — also known as part of the Mdewakanton Band of Dakota — will have a 20,000-square-foot manufacturing campus that will allow them to pioneer a green experiment, the first of its kind in the United States.
The US Hemp Building Association, trade association for the hemp building industry, announced upcoming developments for 2024, including hemp-lime (“hempcrete”) listed in US building codes, removing barriers for commercial architects and designers and helping hemp processors attain a “building grade” hemp spec.
Since the two hemp homes at Wally Farm have been completed, I have been spending some time thinking about how to illustrate the relevance of having used hemp lime (which is now completely invisible like most insulation products are) and how to scale up the conversation from two tiny homes to greater impact.
Once again hemp-lime is proving to be a resilient material, this time in a flood zone. Homeowner Gayle Killen says the remediation she has done to her historic home in Ellicott City, Maryland, has saved the house from flood damage where others have not been so lucky.
Hemp building materials took a prominent place at the Rocky Mountain Natural Building Conference Oct. 20-22. Hemp took the podium along with cob, straw bale, passive house, natural plaster and other natural building technologies, at the Natural Building Alliance's 20th anniversary conference.
In October, I joined a swarm of fanatics, innovators and curious observers, as they descended on Kanteen 25 in the northern outskirts of Amsterdam, Netherlands. One thing was on everyones’ mind at the 11th International Hemp Building symposium -- INDUSTRIAL HEMP and most importantly, how is it altering the future of construction?
Chicago union carpenters and bricklayers got an exposure to hemp-lime materials in a four-day certification workshop led by a Canadian hemp block maker this week.
Wolf Jordan, who transitioned from the world of traditional construction to become a fierce proponent of natural building solutions, and who inspired ecologically-minded builders the world over, has died at age 75.
A global enterprise based in Spain may seem an unlikely role model for a fledging American Indian initiative. But inspired by its success, Winona’s Hemp and Heritage Farm in Anishinaabeg territory is sowing the start of an intertribal cooperative consortium.
The Hemp Building Institute, in partnership with the US Hemp Building Association, completed the final steps to include hemp-lime in the US residential building codes this summer.
In a groundbreaking move this August, a Euro-based hemp block company began its first US construction project in Wildwood, GA. HempBLOCK USA marked dual milestones by commencing its first build and hosting the first HempBLOCK Master Builder training program in the United States.
Meet Henrik Pauly, head of the Hanfingenieur team: one of the only hemp-building teams in Germany.
Carbon credits and how they relate to the hemp construction sector will be featured during this year’s International Hemp Building Symposium, set for Amsterdam Oct. 10-11.
A Colorado startup modular home company unveiled a prototype last month that features HempWool batt insulation.
Industrial hemp experts discussed opportunities in food, feed, farming, automotive and building materials at the South Dakota grand opening of the state's first industrial hemp processing center near Madison, SD in Lake County.
A long-abandoned General Store in Denton, Neb. is being transformed, thanks to a new owner and a giant delivery of hempcrete blocks. The restored building will be a space for the community to gather and shop, while showcasing the latest hemp construction materials.
The founders of Hempitecture have returned to their hempcrete beginnings by offering USA-grown hemp hurds and Idaho-sourced hemp binder through their online store.
The US Hemp Building Association board voted to support the creation of commercial guide specifications for hempcrete, making it easier for architects to choose hemp in large-scale projects.
A new hemp house being built in Georgia shows that with the right bank, even a new material like hempcrete can qualify for a construction loan.
A new hempcrete home in the southwestern Colorado mountains drew interest from local townsfolk because of its wildfire resistant property, the owner said.
The US chief of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said she was already familiar with hemp building materials when she encountered them on the National Mall at an exhibit of housing innovations in June.
From afar, there’s little to suggest this worksite is not your typical build, but actually a first-of-its-kind project in Austin ... until you come closer and see the 400-pound bags of hemp hurd, sacks of lime powder, and a specialized hempcrete mixer.