MN Hempcrete Builders Help Form New Green Building Coalition

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Nov 26

*Danny Desjarlais, industrial hemp construction project manager speaks at the International Hemp Symposium, held in October on the Lower Sioux Community. Photo Courtesy of Jean Lotus*

By Jean Lotus

Hempcrete builders in Minnesota are taking a leadership role in the newly launched Minnesota Efficient Builders Coalition (MEBC), which will advance efficient, high-performance, and low-carbon residential construction. Danny Desjarlais, industrial hemp construction project manager at the Morton, MN Lower Sioux Indian Community serves as a co-chair on the new commission.

Desjarlais and others said they observed the difficulties in getting building code policies changed this summer when a technical advisory panel approved the statewide adoption of 2024 International Residential Building Code appendices for hemp-lime and straw bale construction.

Through that process, Desjarlais met Sam Friesen, managing director of buildings at Fresh Energy, a former Minnesota contractor himself, who now is helping to build the MBEC.

Friesen said his work with Fresh Energy identified a gap between state building code policy and the work on the ground, a gap which discouraged construction professionals from using more efficient and greener techniques and materials.

"We have these technical advisory groups... [but] very rarely do we have builders or designers in those rooms," Friesen told HempBuild Mag.

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The new MBEC coalition will bring tradespeople, architects, and policy specialists to influence regional building standards, Friesen said. The coalition aims to resolve the disconnect between building code drafting and construction realities. "If we want to get to a point where we have carbon-free buildings... we need to have the people that are actually doing the work at the table," Friesen said.

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Sense of Urgency

There is a sense of urgency because residential greenhouse gas emissions have increased in Minnesota by 14% over the past 15 years, mainly due to the natural gas used to heat Minnesota’s homes during cold winters, the group’s website says.

The new group believes builders, architects and manufacturers can work together to advance the most energy efficient materials and methods and then fast-track those into state codes and policy, they say. Friesen and others say it’s possible to build energy-efficient homes at costs on-par with conventional construction, but construction pros are reluctant to try new approaches without a proven model in place.

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The MEBC will target policies regarding building codes, decarbonization, and workforce training, Friesen said.

Right now, there is no cost to join MBEC, and the founders want to encourage regional construction pros to join.

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*A hempcrete-insulated teepee structure was built on the Lower Sioux reservation in Morton, MN during the 13th Annual Hemp Building Symposium in October. Photo courtesy of Jean Lotus*

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Lower Sioux Hemp Building Leadership

Hempcrete’s seat at the table speaks to the leadership of Desjarlais and the Lower Sioux’s groundbreaking use of hemp-lime innovation to create housing for tribal members. The tribe has built or remodeled four homes with hemp-lime insulation in one year, and will remodel 30 more through a $5 million EPA grant in the next year.

The reservation hosted the 13th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium this year, visited by several hundred hemp building professionals from around the world and the United States.

The hempcrete team is even getting inquiries off the reservation to partner with local municipalities and homeowners to build more hemp-lime homes.

"We’re just trying to share everything we can," Desjarlais said. “A lot of people are like, 'Well, that’s my trade secret'... We don't look at it that way. We want to help everybody. We want everybody to succeed."