Hemp entrepreneurs, green architects and engineers, researchers, managers, business & trade professionals and do-it-yourselfers can get insight and hands-on experience in hemp-lime construction during the first edition of “Deep Green Building,” a seminar and workshop series launching next February in Poland. The first event is Feb. 22-24, 2018.
Participants will get practical experience working with hempcrete while constructing walls in the attic of an 18th century palace that serves as headquarters for the Naklo Foundation, which operates HempToday. They will hear lectures in the mornings and work on the construction project during afternoons of the 3-day immersive course. The palace is the home of HempToday Center and is a functioning Hemp Bed & Breakfast.
Leading instructors
Instructors for the course are Belgian natural builder Wolf Jordan, Wolf Jordan & Co., and Piotr Jastrębski, Podlaskie Konopie, a Polish firm that produces building materials and is active in the Polish hemp-building scene.
Wolf is one of Europe’s leading experts in eco-construction and the production of high quality natural paints, plasters and renders for the building industry. He is the founder and sole owner of Wolf Jordan & Co., which operates out of Greenbizz, a Brussels-based incubator that backs growth of startups and small firms focused on sustainability.
Piotr and his brother Marcin farm, process and sell hemp shivs, insulation and other derivatives from their vertically integrated hemp operation in northeastern Poland. Their company is also active in Poland’s natural building scene and is a hemp-building contractor.
Lectures and practice
Lectures during the course will cover the history, theory and applications of hemp-lime materials during which participants will be introduced to all aspects of hemp-lime construction including framing, materials evaluation and selection, mixing techniques, shuttering or slip forming, how to source materials, hemp walls, floors, roofs and plastering. A wrap-up session will explore specific matchmaking opportunities among the participants.
The course is designed for a maximum 25 participants. The signup fee of €750 fee includes all meals during the event’s 3-day run. Five half-price scholarships are available to promising students and startups.
Other permanent faculty for Deep Green Building are Steve Allin, International Hemp Building Association (IHBA); Monika Brummer, Cannabric, Spain; Pamela Bosch, Highland Hemp House, USA; and John Patterson, Tiny Hemp Houses, USA.
