Hempcrete has been growing in popularity because of its energy efficient, cost-effective, and non-toxic properties. Home-owners, builders, and others, have been increasingly looking to incorporate hempcrete into various building plans and soon you might see hempcrete homes or buildings constructed in your own community.
Hempcrete is known to be mold-resistant, work well as an insulator, and it's carbon-negative. By using hempcrete, it's been estimated that construction costs could be lowered by as much as 25 percent or more, other estimates place it at 30 percent cheaper or more.
"Because it's all bio-based, it can be recycled. With hemp-lime from a building at its end of life, one of the most viable options is to use it as mulch. You put it on top of the ground to stop weeds coming up, save water, and help the plants to grow better. Eventually over a few years it will decay and the materials will become fertilisers for the plants. It's a much more virtuous circle than the use of mineral materials...." - Mike Lawrence, Professor at the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials
You can already find homes behind built with hempcrete around the United States and elsewhere. Although it might not be a new material, it's now being rediscovered in a modern way. More home-owners and builders etc, are turning to hempcrete for an affordable, energy-saving, and low maintenance building solution.
Now, the EPA is also looking to research the potential for hempcrete as a sustainable alternative to concrete and they're looking to help fund research on the initiative. They've recently awarded a student-led research team from the University of California, Riverside, with $12,000 to pursue the study on hempcrete.
Hemp-made homes have been considered one of the safest and least toxic home options available today on the market.
