Photo: Solutions Journalism Exchange
De Leertrommel, a school northwest of Brussels built in the 1960s, has become the first Flemish school to be built with hemp following a €2 million (USD $1.9 million) renovation. Hempcrete is fire resistant, provides soundproofing, insulates or stores heat, repels mold and pests, grows sustainably, and has a very low carbon footprint. In the US, Virginia University is developing hemp panels similar to plywood to see if hemp could sustainably replace the waning tobacco industry. After Matthias Bank lost his home and office in Los Angeles County's largest wildfire in 2018, his family have built their chicken coop with hempcrete — and hope to build their main house with it too, pending permits. “We joke that the chickens have a better house than we do.”
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