Hemp shiv (hurd) is the internal part of the stem. When you mix the shiv with a lime(stone) based binder it becomes solid and leaves a negative carbon footprint. When you mix the two together you create Hempcrete.
Hempcrete is 7x stronger than concrete and half the weight. They are 3x more elastic and there are claims that the structures will not crack during an earthquake. These structures are self insulted. The walls are breathable, which will improve air quality all around the building. Hempcrete is resistant to rot, fungus, mold, rodents, bugs, fire proof and waterproof. Unlike straw buildings when it gets wet it will naturally try itself. Once hemp is Re-legalized in the US, it would be the cheapest source of building material.
“The house will continue to pull carbon dioxide out of the air after it is built, because the lime is trying to go back to being a rock and needs CO2 to do that, which means the walls will get harder and harder, over time will petrify. These walls will last for thousands of years.” (video below)
http://www.hemp-technologies.com/
“Why use up the forest, which were centuries in the making and the mines, which require ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the Hemp field?”
-Henry Ford
Henry Ford designed his vehicles to be made from hemp and to be run off of hemp oil. (He also designed a car to run off of water, but that is another topic).
Are you scratching your head yet trying to figure out why we aren’t all growing this plant?
Nomadic MedHunter 