A labor of love and a love of the labor involved, this book is a magnum opus by Irish hemp building pioneer Steve Allin, providing a comprehensive overview of 50 hemp projects worldwide.

Moisture is one of the biggest problems for buildings as it can rot the structure and bring about mold/other such issues. Most structures fail before their time because of moisture.

Burnt, charred wood is historically used as a wood protection measure on the exterior of buildings. It is a technique usually attributed to the Japanese, called Sugi Ban, which we wanted to adapt for hemp construction, by inserting charcoal into the mixture and/or burning the hemp straw itself.

Two Israelis living in the south of Alentejo have teamed up with two Palestinians to found an innovative hemp block business for sustainable construction. Its aim is to encourage the local economy with as little ecological footprint as possible and, of course, lots of love. From this unlikely relationship of Israeli-Palestinian friendship, Hemp was born.

We’d like to introduce you to three new hempcrete builds in Texas, Colorado and Michigan. All three projects began, or were completed, in 2022 and the builders/subcontractors are already starting new projects.

In a first-of-its-kind class offered this semester at Kansas State University, Professor Michael Gibson’s graduate seminar students completed final presentations on building with hempcrete. The class spent the first half of the year researching hempcrete projects from around the world and the material’s historical context.

A Colorado engineering professor’s 2020 research has given builders and designers a new way to measure the way hemp-based biomaterials can store carbon in buildings. By comparing data from a life cycle assessment of hemp+lime insulation, or hempcrete, using digital tools, builders can easily see the benefits of hemp as compared to traditional construction materials.

Two South African companies say they will put the finishing touches on a seven-story building expansion constructed with hemp blocks later this year. Hemporium and Afrimat Hemp, both of Cape Town, partnered to raise an existing conventional five-story building, 84 Harrington Street, to 12 stories by adding levels constructed with blocks from Afrimat Hemp.

One of the biggest motivations in using hemp and lime as a construction material was our interest in building “net zero” or “carbon-negative” or “climate-positive” or “carbon-neutral”– there are a lot of different terms being used, ultimately, it is about achieving a balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere, and the carbon removed from it.

Don’t miss these upcoming events across the USA for the chance to learn about hemp building and construction.