Hempcrete is concrete made from hemp and it’s the best building material by far for healthy, cost effective houses. Houses made of hemp, you say? I know there’s a good “Big Bad Wolf” joke in there somewhere, right?
Do you remember that movie, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, with John Travolta? Whenever I think of hemp houses, that movie comes to mind. John Travolta plays Tod Luvitch, a boy with a severely compromised immune system who cannot live with unfiltered air. Guess what? Walls made from Hempcrete act as a natural filter and are carbon neutral. Did you know hemp absorbs carbon dioxide and puts nitrogen into the soil? (Yep, it’s the perfect rotational crop for our farmers, too). Anyway, I can imagine extending the plot line of that movie to include John Travolta’s character moving into a hemp house and living happily ever after- He gets the girl, and a cool house! – The End.
Imagine, a home that has natural filters as walls , keeps your home cool when it’s hot and warm when it’s cold, all the while reducing energy costs significantly?(Why is hemp illegal, again?) It sounds too good to be true, but it is true.
I recently learned about the construction of a hemp house that is kicking off the “look what we can do with industrial hemp” efforts in Colorado. Team Hemp House’s Indiegogo campaign has less than 49 days to reach its goal of $350K and it doesn’t look like it’s getting much activity at the moment. If you have the means, and this cause speaks to you, I’m sure they would totally appreciate an “assist”
The first U.S. Designer/Builder to build a Hempcrete home back in 2010 in Asheville, North Carolina is Anthony Brenner of Push Design. Brenner’s reason for incorporating Hempcrete into his design is a touching story. It was his child with a rare disorder that motivated him to seek the healthiest building material. His story is featured in a documentary about industrial hemp, Bringing it Home, which I’m hoping to see next week in Redondo Beach.
Kudos to Anthony Brenner and his peeps at Push Design! I’m totally digging the sleek, modern design.
It is very much Hempress approved!
The Hemp Press 