{"id":4649,"date":"2023-09-25T16:34:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T20:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/havenearth.biz\/2023\/09\/25\/in-memoriam-wolf-jordan-belgian-hemp-building-pioneer\/"},"modified":"2023-09-25T16:34:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T20:34:04","slug":"in-memoriam-wolf-jordan-belgian-hemp-building-pioneer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/havenearth.biz\/2023\/09\/25\/in-memoriam-wolf-jordan-belgian-hemp-building-pioneer\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam: Wolf Jordan, Belgian Hemp-Building Pioneer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/p>\n

\"\"

\n

Wolf Jordan revisits one of his early projects, the Hobbit Home in Rebour, Belgium. Photo by Lillian Clarke<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

By Kehrt Reyher, <\/em>Hemp Today<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

An innovator, teacher, entrepreneur \u2013 and blues musician, Jordan traveled the world, lecturing, building, and searching for pigments to go into Calcatex, his lovingly crafted line of natural lime-based paints.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany years ago when I stepped into my father\u2019s business, I stepped into the classical building world, with cement, concrete, things like that,\u201d Jordan told HempToday in 2019. \u201cWe sold machinery for building sites and for concrete factories, so I became familiar with physical laws that apply to mixtures that need a binder.\u201d<\/p>\n

After becoming \u201cecologically engaged,\u201d Jordan started to search for sustainable alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people never change,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Subscribe for HempBuild Magazine\u2019s free newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Global
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Global Fiber Processing <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hemp
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hemp Build School <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Americhanvre
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Americhanvre <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Texas Healthy Homes<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"South
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

South Bend Industrial Hemp<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hemp
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hemp Building Company <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Nature
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Nature Fibres <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hempknowlogy\"
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hempknowlogy<\/p>\n

Linseed to lime<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

It was at Wolf Jordan & Co., the company he founded in Kalmthout, Belgium, where he first developed his Calcatex paints. \u201cLinseed oil and turpentine were absolutely part of my youth,\u201d said Jordan, who spent his boyhood in the same household as his grandfather, Frans van Tongerloo, a well-regarded 20th-century Belgian realist and impressionist painter.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom linseed oil paints to lime paints . . . was a small step,\u201d Jordan said of his initial shift in focus to natural building materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can call our clothing our second skin, our houses are our third skin. The walls are the last layer and therefore the one you\u2019ll have contact with. So they should be healthy and natural and breathable too,\u201d said Jordan, also considered a world-leading expert in natural plasters and renders, and who developed special additives for hempcrete \u2013 proprietary formulas which he kept a closely held secret. He also developed lines of natural oils and waxes for wood and stone.<\/p>\n

But his paints and the color in them were his first love. \u201cThe choice of the color has a relation with music. It has a relation with the stars,\u201d he said. \u201cThe special secret of my paints is that they also reflect invisible colors which we can\u2019t see with our eyes, but which you can feel. This gives an extra effect \u2013 an effect that I did not invent, but I just remade based on knowledge that goes back to the Middle Ages, Roman times, and even early Egyptian sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here to go to our FREE online community.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Graymont
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Graymont Ltd. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Homeland
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Homeland Hempcrete <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"HempStone\"
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

HempStone<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Midwest
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Midwest Natural Fiber <\/p>\n

Friends everywhere<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cI first met Wolf when he attended the 2nd International Hemp Building Symposium in Granada in 2011 and was struck immediately by his love for natural building materials and his excitement at discovering those made from hemp,\u201d said Steve Allin, Director of the International Hemp Building Association.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a friend and colleague and we spent many occasions together around the world in places such as Paris and Nepal, working to spread the knowledge,\u201d Allin said. \u201cHe was a fierce promoter of natural building and at the same time a gentle soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ukrainian hemp builder Sergiy Kovalenkov<\/a>, who met Jordan a decade ago, said, \u201cWhat struck me the most was his deep knowledge of natural construction materials and his charisma. His knowledge base of hemp and lime products was unrivaled. I learned a lot from him and his passing is a huge loss to the green building community around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"US
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

US Hemp Building Assn. (Copy)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"HEMPALTA
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

HEMPALTA (Copy)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Sativa
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Sativa Building Systems (Copy)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Prairie
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Prairie PROducers (Copy)<\/p>\n

\u2018Boundless enthusiasm\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gizem Tutumlu, a Turkish filmmaker who became close to Jordan in his later years, said \u201cWolf was an extraordinary teacher who poured his heart into his work with unwavering joy and boundless enthusiasm. His life force and zest for life were inspiring, and he led by example in showing how to live a life enriched with love, laughter, and the values he held dear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legacy he leaves behind and the enduring warmth he shared will forever reside in the hearts of those fortunate enough to have crossed his path. As a true friend and a kind soul, his absence will always be deeply felt, and he\u2019ll be fondly remembered,\u201d Tutumlu said.<\/p>\n

Jordan\u2019s \u201csmall is beautiful\u201d ethos inspired Latvian hemp builder Kristaps Eglitis to develop the HurdMaster<\/span><\/a>, a hemp micro-decorticator that is sold all over the world. \u201cHe not only inspired me to work with hempcrete, but we can also say he was the grandfather of HurdMaster,\u201d Eglitis said.<\/p>\n

Piotr Jastrz\u0119bski, Podlaskie Konopie, Poland, a hemp farmer and builder, said: \u201cWhen I close my eyes and think about this wonderful man, I see the warm light he spread, his kindness and his fantastic sense of humor, which I loved. He was an artist of our hemp world, and at the same time a true lime expert, sharing with us his passion and deep knowledge of the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Haven
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Haven Earth <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hemp
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hemp and Block LLC <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"US
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

US Heritage Group <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hemp
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hemp Eco Systems <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a>

\n

Offered as part of a special partnership between USHBA and HempBuildMag. HempBuildMag receives a commission through this arrangement.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Charming wizard\u2019<\/h2>\n

Friends and even one-time acquaintances often ascribed nearly other-worldly qualities to Jordan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was like a charming wizard from a book, full of wisdom and magic,\u201d Kovalenkov said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a real honor to have the opportunity to know Wolf Jordan in this life and to be able to directly learn from him,\u201d said Nivedita Bansal Shah of Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures, Nepal. \u201cA pure soul like his doesn\u2019t die, it just changes form.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who\u2019s met Wolf must feel a void,\u201d said Pamela Bosch<\/a> of Highland Hemp House in the U.S. \u201cYet, I imagine that his gentle spirit easily transitions to the ethereal mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was like an elf from the forest who possessed sacred knowledge, and he was rewarding everyone with this knowledge, kindly and softly,\u201d said Anar Artur of Hemp Mongolia. \u201cHe glowed like light.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in <\/em>Hemp Today.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Related Stories: <\/p>\n

Vicarious Travels: A Hemp Hobbit House in the Woods<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Vicarious Travels: Wolf Jordan, Plaster Master of Belgium<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hearts
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hearts of Mercy <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hemp
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hemp Building Directory<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Old
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Old Pueblo Hemp Co. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hempitecture,
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Hempitecture, Inc. <\/p>\n

\n

Please Support Our Classified Advertisers\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(To find out more about advertising CLICK HERE<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Help Wanted:<\/strong><\/p>\n