The Leaf THE LEAF November-December 2019 | Page 21

used in the construction of a seven-story
municipal building, although he did not reveal
the specific location.
As previously reported by the Mind
Unleashed, Dutch company Dun Agro put a
hemp home on display in late 2018. Dun Agro
hempcrete is made from hemp fibres, water
and glue.
After it is pressed together in a mould to make
prefab sections, the mixture dries over a
period of three months before the sections are
assembled to create an entire home.
More sustainable alternatives in construction
are certainly needed as they are in nearly
every industry.
Beyond the concerns of greenhouse gas
emissions, there is simply not enough sand to
sustain the increasing demand for
conventional concrete.
This poses yet another environmental crisis,
as the specific type of sand needed for
concrete is often harvested from riverbeds,
which destroys ecosystems and threatens the
biodiversity of plants, fish and animals.
It isn’t something that people think about
often, but sand is the second most used natural
resource in the world, surpassed only by
water.
This high demand often creates an incentive
for criminal cartels to fight over resource-rich
territories in the developing world, disrupting
the local ecosystem and terrorizing civilians
who attempt to get in their way.
If the construction industry were to fully
adopt a renewable alternative like hemp, it
could radically improve some of these social,
environmental and economic concerns.
https://themindunleashed.com/2019/09/builders-use-
hemp-instead-concrete-save-environment.html