Vicarious Travels: A Hemp Hobbit House in the Woods

By Lillian “Lilibet” Clarke

This is the adventure of making a dream come true: Building and inspiring a spiral hemphouse. 

Join me as Wolf Jordan takes me on another surprise whimsical visit into the woods! 

As we drove through the trees, on a long signless road, it seemed easy to get lost, but all of a sudden, voila! Have we arrived at  J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbit home? As we got out of the car, we were greeted by Marieke, the owner. She was thrilled to see Wolf, and greeted him with a genuine bear hug. 


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As a third generation of inheriting this piece of property, Marieke wanted to preserve the land outside Antwerp, Belgium, but since she was required to build on it, she wanted to build something purposeful. She collaborated with her son on the design for the home. 

But, to provide a healing place, one needs a healing structure. 

Enter Wolf Jordan and his extensive knowledge of constructing with hemp, lime, and natural pigments! His skills launched this project, and with the help of many volunteers, their international hands were imprinted on the building through their creative touches. 

Interior of the Belgian hempcrete hobbit house called ‘Robur at the Oak’ near Antwerp, Belgium. Photo by Lillian Clarke

As they say with putting the cherry on top of the sundae, and to not be upstaged by the youngsters, Wolf added his own touch of whimsy, with colored bottles around the roofline to follow the sun.

Marieke created this not-for-profit association called Robur at the Oak, that helps people reconnect with nature. She was “convinced that one of the most important underlying causes of modern western ‘well-being’ diseases can be found in our deep disconnection from nature. 

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Who in the Western world still knows how to survive in nature and even thrive in it? And we are part of nature! So, in fact, we are deeply disconnected from ourselves.

Another consequence of this disconnection is how we have developed an ‘infinite growth’ economy without respect for natural cycles or balances. No wonder the planet is getting exhausted!

And no wonder we are depressed and burned out… We “harvest what we sow.”

As we walk through this charming chalet, you can feel the roots of our energy intertwined with nature. You are embraced with warmth and a genuine good healing energy. Marieke invites everyone to come and re-discover who you are in a natural healing place.


We joyfully encourage you to explore Marieke’s Robur at the Oak website and hope this intrigues you to visit!

Wolf Jordan: https://wolfjordan.be

Earthwise  -  https://earthwise.us/

The Robur at the Oak Hobbit Chalet, designed by Wolf Jordan. Photo courtesy of Lillian Clarke

Offered as part of a special partnership between USHBA and HempBuildMag. HempBuildMag receives a commission through this arrangement.



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