Executive Comment EDITORS NOTE
This construction issue celebrates hemp fibre building materials , particularly hempcrete .
It is very timely as 2021 will be a milestone year for the iHemp fibre industry as Aotearoa / New Zealand ’ s first commercial scale decortication line to process iHemp stems will be operational in Christchurch .
This supply of locally produced bast fibre and hurd will stimulate the industry to grow by creating and building demand .
The trick will be to manage this supply and demand as the industry scales up .
Exciting times ahead as large-scale demand will require other decortication factories .
And , due to prohibitive transport costs , these factories will need to be close to where the crop is grown , which naturally leads to bio regional development .
We are set to establish a new sustainable primary industry , based on a regenerative crop , that can make products and provide services that will affect every industrial sector .
Richard Barge
Editor
Marco Fantham markfantham @ gmail . com 021-067-5710
BUILDING WITH HEMP IS A NO BRAINER !
New Zealanders and Australians were legally allowed to grow and import hemp products for building in 2006 .
We have just seven hempcrete houses completed . There is a good number currently in pre-construction . Australia has 260 . What is wrong with this picture ?
However , there is a growing force of hempsters dedicated to the cause .
We now have much needed infrastructure in New Zealand with the HempFarm / Carrfields Fibre Processing factory newly set up in Christchurch to separate the raw iHemp stems into bast fibre and hurd .
The hurds are what are used to build with . In this issue we profile some of those products like Hempcrete .
There are also the DIY Kiwis doing it for themselves , getting help from Australia .
And , we have a group of Ngati Tuhoe women touring the country and getting other tribes interested in growing and building healthy homes .
For any info you need on building with hemp in New Zealand , please visit
www . HBA . NZ
7