Hemp building materials were featured at the SXSW Climate Change conference March 11 in Austin, TX, and the hemp building community came together to raise money to build refugee hempcrete housing in Ukraine.

Idaho-based Hempitecture, Inc., hosted the grand opening of their non-woven hemp-based insulation materials factory last week in Jerome, ID with confetti, a ribbon cutting and celebration.

The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting the extensive study of hemp-fiber insulation in a research and development program for entrepreneurs at the Tennessee-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Ketchum, ID-based Hempitecture, Inc., a pioneering U.S. company in hemp building materials, raised almost $1 million in the first two days through an online regulation crowdfunding investment campaign this week.