Hempcrete: (A) brick, (B) brick with text "Made from hemp hurds, lime and water. As it cures it draws carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and petrifies the cellulose into stone. Within 50 years it is solid as a rock. This building technique is at least 2000 years old." (C) Construction block made from hempcrete (in France). (D) Hemp interior thermal insulation blocks. (E) External wall after removing the temporary shuttering. Hemp lime building under construction in Donwpatrick, Co. Down, Northern Ireland.
Hempcrete is a mixture of hemp hurds (shives) and lime used as a material for construction and insulation. It is marketed under names like Hempcrete, Canobiote, Canosmose, and Isochanvre. Hempcrete is easier to work with than traditional lime mixes and acts as an insulator and moisture regulator. It lacks the brittleness of concrete and consequently does not need expansion joints. The typical compressive strength is around 1 MPa (around 1/20 that of residential grade concrete). Hempcrete's density is only 15% that of traditional concrete.
