iHemp issue #15 May 2021 Fibre Construction | Page 46

of the hemp industry , which could initiate legislative change , to allow the many other benefits of hemp to come forward .
We went on to develop a product at the university and continued to be heavily involved in the hemp industry in terms of lobbying government and submission writing . Hemp was finally commercialized for Fibre in NSW in 2009 .
Our first council approved build was in 2009 . I started work with clients who were prepared to take a gamble on me . Part way through , we had to close up the house for 3 months while they went overseas . In the region the home was in , buildings are prone to mould . We made the media that year because we were able to bring attention to two of the greatest advantages of building with hemp , effective Moisture Management and Mould Resistance .”
She adds , “ There are at least 6 hemp buildings in New Zealand that are finished or soon to be finished . We ’ re involved with 3 of them . In Australia there are 260 plus hemp buildings including a few commercial builds . ”
Klara ’ s Australian Hemp Masonry Company is a training , consultancy and resource company for :
• Architects and Building Designers
• Engineers
• Builders
• Owner Builders
They also supply Building Code compliant proprietary Australian hempcrete building products .
“ There is a real need for education , she adds .” Their website is set up to be an education resource
www . hempmasonry . com . au
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There is a lot of information there about :
• Building with hemp
• Understanding the performance of hemp
• Hemp products and what goes into a building
• Estimating costs