Hempcrete [Building Solutions for the Future]
A few years ago I came across a "new" building material while browsing the internet, called Hempcrete. It immediately caught my attention and I continued to research. There is a lot of development in the Hempcrete industry throughout Europe but not so much in Canada.
I did however find an installer in Kelowna, a fellow named Brandon Cochran - the owner of Hemp-Works Canada. At the time we had a potential project that we were hoping to work together on, but unfortunately, the project never got off the ground.
After that project fizzled out, I wasn't sure how to go about selling the idea of Hempcrete to our design clients, it is so "new" in our region that we don't even have a Hempcrete building in the Okanagan. I also knew that because of the stigma surrounding Cannabis our efforts in convincing folks to use the product in their home build was going to be a challenge on its own. Slightly discouraged, the idea of using Hempcrete in our projects faded into the back of my mind.
Then summer 2021 hit. You and I and everyone else in our province and across the world felt the terrifying impacts of climate change and all I could think of is "why aren't we building with Hempcrete?". We are facing a multitude of existential crises that we all want to solve before things progress too far and we believe Hempcrete is a remarkable product that ticks many boxes. Its benefits include being fireproof, pest resistant, mould resistant, compostable, has a high R-value, heating/cooling/humidity regulation, 100% natural and non-toxic, AND the product will sequester carbon while it's growing out in the field, then it continues to pull carbon out of the atmosphere for the life of the house, essentially 100+ years. Our homes could be safe, comfortable, climate change fighting super-machines for generations to come.
With our federal politicians flying abroad for yet another UN Climate Summit we're reminded of the goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Albeit alarmist to think we need to act a bit sooner than that, but also realizing we need to get all hands on deck. We believe the next generation of custom house design in Penticton and throughout the Okanagan is going to be the safest, most comfortable, and cost-effective iteration of the home we've ever seen.
We would like to see every new home and renovation across Canada built using Hempcrete, and in our following post, we're going to go into a little more detail as to why.
Like I mentioned earlier, we haven't had a Hempcrete house built yet in the valley, would you like to be the first and help us pioneer the future of Hempcrete in the Okanagan? Contact us!
Stay tuned! We have more great content coming down the pipe!
-Jaimie
