A couple are doing just that, building a house in Chester Hill and using Hempcrete – a carbon negative product that is sustainable and pest-free.
Hempcrete, made from mixing woody hemp fibre (from inside the hemp stalk), with lime and water, is pushed into timber frames by hand to build insulating walls.
Wendy Bellamy and Mike Cook who believe their home will be the first Hempcrete house in Canterbury Bankstown when it’s completed in about a month, say it’s a bit like mud-building a home that becomes like concrete when it cures and is as cheap as building a brick veneer home.
“We were invited by our builder James Isaacs to tour Narara Eco Village on the Central Coast and taken on an induction tour where you learn about the hands-on process,” Wendy said.
“Narara is an amazing community where they aim to work with the environment, not against it – from their carbon negative buildings, food growing and compositing, all with the aim of zero waste.
“We were hooked after that; it only takes three months to harvest a hemp crop which can be made into building products, clothing and even paper; better to use such a sustainable product like hemp than to cut down 100-year-old trees.”
Leading the charge, builder James of Belubula Hemp Homes, has built eight Hempcrete homes including his own in freezing Lithgow at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
“Last winter, we only had a small wood oven in the kitchen; that’s all we needed to heat our large, open plan house in below zero temperatures,” he said.
“It’s truly an amazing product.”
