Hemp Voices: Micaela Isabel Machado, Old Pueblo Hemp Co.
Micaela Isabel Machado is owner and qualifying general contractor for Tucson, AZ-based Old Pueblo Hemp Company
I really love the idea of building homes that are in sync with nature. Homes that bring peace and safety to people. Homes that represent healthy living and love for our planet. I think this industry can change the building world and I love spreading that message.
What was a win for your company in the past year?
A huge win for Old Pueblo Hemp this year was winning the People’s Choice Design Award presented by the City of Tucson. It was an ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit) design competition and there were over 200 submissions. Now there’s only so much design that can be done in 600 SQ’ so what people were really voting for was the Hemp material. Tucson was telling me loud and clear that they are ready to build with Hemp and that really touched my heart. The City of Tucson has issued us our permits for the first permitted Hemp house in AZ. We break ground this Spring and I am so ready for it.
What is something about hemp building/construction/processing you didn’t know a year ago?
I recently saw a gentleman out of Canada who was using a tinted oxide to create decorative interior feature walls. It looked a lot like rammed earth and he left it exposed. It really inspired me to use Hemp in a more ingenious design way. As an artist and designer how can I use Hemp to educate, inspire or create functional art?
What challenges does the hemp building industry face that it must overcome in the next five years?
I think the main challenge is still getting the word out that these materials and building methods are available and how much better they are. People and entities still have the misconception that “Affordable Housing” means cheap-to-build housing. But it can’t mean that. “Affordable Housing” MUST mean ENERGY EFFICIENT housing so that a family can sustain it over time. People need to understand that building cheap is actually more expensive. With poor energy performance, inevitable renovation costs, costs to the environment and our health, and it doesn’t make sense to import cheap toxic materials when we have higher performing domestic ones right here.
Micaela Machado
oldpueblohempco@gmail.com