People in grass houses won't get stoned

THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO VOLUME 19 #39 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005

Cultivator Keith Bolton and Klara Marosszeky from Marowby Futures
who will process the hemp into bricks and build a house in Tweed
Shire by June. Photo Jeff ‘Seeds and Stems Again’ Dawson

Nearly 2.5 million hemp plants will be harvested from a secret location in northern NSW over the next two weeks, and then processed for use in the construction of two hemp houses. The hemp houses are part of the North Coast Mop Crop project, a collaboration between Southern Cross U n i v e r s i t y ( S C U ), Morrowb y F u t u r e s, Ecotechnology Australia and a North Coast council. Project leader Dr Keith Bolton, from Southern Cross University, said the non hallucinogenic low THC hemp was being used successfully to construct houses in France and other parts of Europe, but this was possibly the fi rst time hemp houses will be built in Australia. ‘There are two important things that make hemp a superior material for building. It’s lightweight, which means there is less stress on foundations, and the thermal properties are far superior to conventional building materials,’ Dr Bolton said. ‘We will be using the entire crop for the building material and we will be building atleast two houses.’ The 1.3 hectare crop is being grown at a north coast sewerage plant as a means of mopping up the effl uent. It is the fifth and largest hemp crop to be produced through SCU’s North Coast Mop Crop Project. ‘We are aiming to demonstrate that there can be a commercial outcome from hemp cultivation. ‘The state government has indicated that they will not allow commercial licences for growing hemp until they are confident there is a market.’ Once economies of scale are in place the cost of the hemp building material should be similar to conventional bricks, said Dr Bolton, who believes in future it could be possible for people to grow their own crop. ‘I can definitely say the insulation properties are far superior. ‘We also think we may be eligible for carbon credits, because the material will be locking up a significant amount of carbon.’ Harvesting of the hemp crop began last Monday.