Delegates to this year’s International Hemp Building Symposium can see demonstrations of hemp decortication technology and hempcrete spraying during the 10th edition of the event, to be held in Lacapelle Marival, France, Oct. 11-12, 2022.
New building projects and innovative materials will also be reviewed during the symposium, moderated by Steve Allin, Director of the International Hemp Building Association (IHBA), the symposium’s organizer. The in-person symposium can also be accessed live online.
With governments all over the world committing to climate goals, Allin, a 20-year hemp construction veteran, said interest in hemp-based building is growing fast.
‘Waking up’
“The world is finally waking up to the fact that climate change is real,” Allin said. “We are showcasing solutions that can be mainstreamed to make hemp an alternative to the highly polluting conventional building industry.”
In addition to the climate challenges, hemp-based construction can address the global need for sustainable, healthy housing, Allin suggested.
Decortication technology to be demonstrated is from Hemp-Act, which is headquartered near the symposium site in Lacapelle Marival. The company is a developer of systems that turn out hemp hurd for the building sector, and high-quality fiber for textiles.
Spraying technology
Two companies will demonstrate hempcrete spraying systems. Baumer Hemp, St. Vit, France, will showcase EREASY, a system the family masonry company has been developing since 2014 as it seeks affordable options for natural builders. EREASY can be used for floor, wall and roof construction. The end-to-end system includes a preformulated binder from Lisbonis Chaux Grasses, Marseille, that makes the spraying mechanism run smoothly. TecnoCanapa, Novagli di Montichiari, Italy, a green building materials supplier, will also demonstrate hempcrete spraying.
Allin pioneered the IHBA, which he serves as director. An author, teacher and consultant on ecological building, he has been building with hemp and promoting hemp’s use in construction all over the world for the last 20 years. He is the author of “Hemp Buildings: 50 International Case Studies” (Seedpress, 2021), and Building with Hemp (Seed Press, 2005, 2012), and an extensive collection of papers on hemp-based construction.
