After years of efforts from USHBA volunteers and consultants, the governing body for national building codes in the United States released a residential building code that included hemp-lime (hempcrete) for the first time.

Researchers at Troy, NY-based Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) received a $1.5 million 3-year grant from the US Department of Energy to develop a hemp-based low-cost insulation panel that can cut heating and cooling costs in home retrofits.

A small student-built hemp demonstration structure nicknamed the “Hemp Casita” has criss-crossed the state of Kansas educating about the potential of building materials made of industrial hemp. 

Now, some of the collaborators are working to bring that knowledge to New Jersey with an educational seminar in Manahawkin, NJ. May 10-12 that will cover industrial hemp from growing the plant to building with it. 

A pilot program to activate agricultural farmland and grow industrial hemp in the Southwest United States is looking for three “agricultural land stewards” to live in hemp tiny homes and spend the summer tending the land. 

Members of the US Hemp Building Association voted this week to elect two new board members, bringing the total number to nine. Ingrid Fay of Chicago and Cody Ley of Jones, MI were the top vote-getters in a 9-candidate race.

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. 

At least three historic hempcrete homes are being built in the United States this year with the support of instructors and other students enrolled in an online hemp building class series.

The US Hemp Building Association announced the names of nine candidates running in the upcoming online election for two at-large members of the board of directors.

The US Army awarded a $1.9M grant to a Pennsylvania-based hemp-lime building company to partner with research institutions to study the fire resistance, thermal insulation value and carbon footprint of “hempcrete” in construction.

A second Vermont winter is in full swing as a New England couple awaits the completion of their hemp home on a former 235-acre dairy farm property outside of Bennington.

The new year, Sergiy Kovalenkov posted on LinkedIn, is starting with “a new chapter” for Hempire UA, as the building that houses their office near downtown Kyiv, Ukraine was hit by a Russian rocket on January 2.

If you're interested in building with hemp, you'll find everything you need in one convenient place: Hemp and lime suppliers, green builders, architects, engineers, plasterers and equipment are all here.

The US Hemp Building Association this week announced a call for candidates for a special board election for two new at-large members to join the trade association’s board of directors.

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

INTERVIEW: An author, teacher and consultant on ecological building, Steve Allin has been building with hemp and promoting hemp’s use in construction all over the world for more than 20 years.

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.