From afar, there’s little to suggest this worksite is not your typical build, but actually a first-of-its-kind project in Austin ... until you come closer and see the 400-pound bags of hemp hurd, sacks of lime powder, and a specialized hempcrete mixer.

Two long-experienced natural building experts are bringing the Carolinas—North and South—together to revive the region’s hempcrete building scene. April Magill, of Root Down Designs, an architect from Charleston, SC has partnered with North Carolina’s Tim Callahan, a legendary hemp-building pioneer who designed and constructed 10 hemp structures around Asheville, NC between 2009-2016.

Idaho-based Hempitecture, Inc., manufacturer of US-grown hemp insulation batting HempWool, plans to open a second manufacturing facility in New York state and roll out several new products, founders say. 

We are developing next-generation construction materials derived from renewable resources. One such very prominent resource is hemp. Hemp offers a great opportunity to develop new local economies around it that span the agriculture, processing, manufacturing, and construction sectors

A group of Tasmanian women hemp farmers ran a crowdfunding campaign this August raising over 1.5 million Australian dollars (about $1 M USD) from 900 investors.

A proverb says a lie can travel half way around the world before the Truth gets its trousers on. This is certainly more true in the internet age, especially with aggregated news gathering.

When construction is complete next April, the Lower Sioux — also known as part of the Mdewakanton Band of Dakota — will have a 20,000-square-foot manufacturing campus that will allow them to pioneer a green experiment, the first of its kind in the United States.

The US Hemp Building Association, trade association for the hemp building industry, announced upcoming developments for 2024, including hemp-lime (“hempcrete”) listed in US building codes, removing barriers for commercial architects and designers and helping hemp processors attain a “building grade” hemp spec.

Since the two hemp homes at Wally Farm have been completed, I have been spending some time thinking about how to illustrate the relevance of having used hemp lime (which is now completely invisible like most insulation products are) and how to scale up the conversation from two tiny homes to greater impact.

Once again hemp-lime is proving to be a resilient material, this time in a flood zone. Homeowner Gayle Killen says the remediation she has done to her historic home in Ellicott City, Maryland, has saved the house from flood damage where others have not been so lucky.

Hemp building materials took a prominent place at the Rocky Mountain Natural Building Conference Oct. 20-22. Hemp took the podium along with cob, straw bale, passive house, natural plaster and other natural building technologies, at the Natural Building Alliance's 20th anniversary conference.

In October, I joined a swarm of fanatics, innovators and curious observers, as they descended on Kanteen 25 in the northern outskirts of Amsterdam, Netherlands. One thing was on everyones’ mind at the 11th International Hemp Building symposium -- INDUSTRIAL HEMP and most importantly, how is it altering the future of construction?

Chicago union carpenters and bricklayers got an exposure to hemp-lime materials in a four-day certification workshop led by a Canadian hemp block maker this week.

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.

A global enterprise based in Spain may seem an unlikely role model for a fledging American Indian initiative. But inspired by its success, Winona’s Hemp and Heritage Farm in Anishinaabeg territory is sowing the start of an intertribal cooperative consortium.

The Hemp Building Institute, in partnership with the US Hemp Building Association, completed the final steps to include hemp-lime in the US residential building codes this summer.

In a groundbreaking move this August, a Euro-based hemp block company began its first US construction project in Wildwood, GA. HempBLOCK USA marked dual milestones by commencing its first build and hosting the first HempBLOCK Master Builder training program in the United States.

Meet Henrik Pauly, head of the Hanfingenieur team: one of the only hemp-building teams in Germany.

Carbon credits and how they relate to the hemp construction sector will be featured during this year’s International Hemp Building Symposium, set for Amsterdam Oct. 10-11.

A Colorado startup modular home company unveiled a prototype last month that features HempWool batt insulation.