To learn about building a home that would live light on the land, Fay took an ecological home design class from Solution Era. Fay, other students, and their teacher experimented with a variety of building solutions and sustainable materials. She concluded that she wanted to build a hemp house. Not a home from hemp wood (a wood-like product made from hemp used for interior face building, furniture, and flooring); nor by using blocks of hempcrete (made from mixing lime and water with the woody core of the hemp plant).

Instead, Fay and her husband decided to use loose hemp. "It's cheaper," she says. "We build the box walls with wood, then push the hemp inside to insulate the walls. Then cover it with a mix of lime, sand, and water to create a kind of stucco." Fay hired an expert to show them how to pack the hemp. Then, they mixed the hemp with lime, water, and a bit of brick powder to bind it together. It took six weeks, but they had the help of six to eight people a day (including other students from her class who wanted to learn).

"I wanted loose hemp because it's so natural," she explains. "You don't have any plastic between the house and the outside, it provides excellent insulation, and it regulates humidity." According to the New York Times, hemp-house enthusiasts tout the material for its stucco-like appearance and lack of toxicity. It also has a lower carbon footprint: a hemp house requires three times less energy to make than standard limestone concrete.

Joy Beckerman, a hemp law specialist and active in the Hemp Industries Association, also told the Times that "In many climates, a 12-foot hempcrete wall will facilitate approximately 60-degrees indoor temperatures year-around, without heating or cooling systems." An additional benefit is hemp's lower overall environmental compared to traditional construction.

Hemp vs. Marijuana

Let's clear the air on the differences between hemp and marijuana. Both are broad classifications of Cannabis. Specifically, hemp is used "to classify varieties of Cannabis that contain 0.3 percent or less THC content (by dry weight)," according to the CBDOrigin.com. "'Hemp' has generally been used to describe non-intoxicating Cannabis that is harvested for the industrial use of its derived products." The Agricultural Act of 2018 legitimized the legal definition of hemp and made it legal for farmers to grow and cultivate hemp plants for a wide variety of uses. 

Products from hemp have been in existence for more than 10,000 years, from rope and textiles to paper, body care, and food products, to building materials. Currently, hemp is an ingredient in more than 25,000 products. According to CNBC, the overall demand for nature-friendly construction is increasing. And hemp is gaining worldwide attention for its use as alternative insulation in homebuilding. 

Benefits of Hemp as Insulation

High-value insulation, as well as excellent air circulation, are top criteria in today's sustainable homes. Approximately 75 percent of all houses in the U.S. incorporate fiberglass insulation, a combination of plastic and recycled glass. Moreover, studies show that that nine out of 10 homes are poorly or under-insulated.