Hemp Voices: Cameron McIntosh, Americhanvre Cast Hemp
Cameron McIntosh, Right, with team members, is principal owner/founder Americhanvre Cast Hemp, Allentown, PA
Lately I am most interested in, and excited about, hemp as a biobased construction material derived from a rapidly, annually and agriculturally renewable feed stock!
What was a win for your company in the past year?
Major wins for Americhanvre in the last year include our first successful one hour ASTM E119 fire resistance test, expansion of our network of Ereasy system owner operators, our appearance in the Patagonia "Green Buffalo" film alongside Danny Dejarlais and Ereasy system owner/operators the Lower Sioux Indian Community, our booth setup at the Greenbuild Expo in Philadelphia and our invitation to present at the World Hemp Forum in Troyes, France! Americhanvre has carried out twelve of our eighteen month period of performance on our direct to phase II U.S. Army SBIR award and we are beginning to see the impact this work has had on the documentation and laboratory testing profile of the Ereasy Spray Applied Hempcrete System here in the U.S. We would like to welcome the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, Jared Sonnes in New Hampshire, Ashley Stallworth at Bio Fiber Industries in Washington state, and Aaron Grail of Aaron Grail Consulting and Construction in California as our latest Ereasy Spray Applied Hempcrete System owner/operators! Finally, perhaps our greatest win, the addition of Christopher Golla to the Americhanvre team as our first true employee has made both Melissa and my life all the brighter and more manageable.
What is something about hemp building/construction/processing you didn’t know a year ago?
The U.S. Department of Energy has called for net zero embodied carbon and operational energy residential homes to be the new normal by the year 2050. Our solution can deliver on this now! Biobased construction materials are the future and we will live to see their adoption.
What challenges does the hemp building industry face that it must overcome?
Our biggest challenge is identity. What makes hemp building materials really amazing and awesome? The fact that hemp is a rapidly renewable agricultural crop. What is the difference between hemp and other rapidly renewable agricultural crops like straw and bamboo? The answer is nearly one hundred years of prohibition and the negative stigma of our association with recreational and medicinal cannabis. We all have to work diligently to present these materials professionally. As soon as a construction professional (builder, developer, architect, engineer, etc) senses your passion for cannabis, they will dismiss your solution despite the obvious benefits of the material. We need to walk, talk, dress, act (and smell) professional to be taken seriously!
Phone: (833) 443-6727
Contact: melissa@americhanvre.com
