As we all watch in horror at the destruction in the Los Angeles and Maui communities, are there solutions to increased fire risk?
It might surprise Humboldt County readers that the answer is local. Indigenous Habitat Institute (IHI) has been preparing a transfer of technology and knowledge with our partners in France who have become the world leader in hempcrete construction. Multi-story structures now going up in Paris are carbon-negative in a building and construction industry which currently contributes almost 40% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Hempcrete is an insulating material simply comprising processed hemp, a custom lime formula and water. The European Union put this material to a 4-hour fire test and it survived. Locals Lisa Sundberg, myself and the team of our international partners (including Peter Homdahl, the first non-French graduate of the premier hempcrete panel factory program) have been putting together the local manufacturing and training assets.
IHI has partnered with Hoopa’s Franklin Richards (chair of Building Lives by Building Structure) at the tribe’s existing modular housing manufacturing plant. With Chrissy Backman (Backman Building Services), our team of partners will complete the first accessory dwelling unit in Eureka in the next few weeks. Working with other 13 tribes as part of the Oregon State University grant, we hope to engage more local tribes.
Yes, you are reading this correctly: Humboldt is a first mover in North America. Occupants will see utility bills plummet from the inherent energy efficiencies of the material. Hempcrete is mold/pest resistant. By developing our own local manufacturing, training the workforce (through our collaboration with College of the Redwoods), and tribal collaborations, Humboldt will become less reliant on supply chain breakdowns. But more importantly, we will be keeping dollars local inside of corporations and banks outside of our area.
IHI has already been approached about future projects in our backyard that can serve as models for other communities. Danco, local architects, and local property owners are working with us to envision our future together. Through a USDA grant we received through Oregon State University (which includes Pacific Northwest states, tribes and universities) to run fire, seismic and efficiency tests on our hempcrete panels to ensure developers, builders and owners have a certified product. IHI is building an industry.
Soon, IHI is planning training for regional tribal members soon from our European colleagues coming to Humboldt County. We will be featuring a number of local events showcasing our first ADU build, demonstrations and facility tours. This regenerative housing will soon be available for those wishing to place orders now on Indigenoushabitatinstitute.com.
What of existing structures? A project in Lille, France is spraying hempcrete insulation on 23,000 stone housing units protected by UNESCO. But utility bills made it unaffordable for the low-income residents until this insulation was applied (creating a couple of billion-dollar industries for that local economy). Some in the industry call hempcrete builds a “forever home” because the natural material has analogs in history which still exist thousands of years. Training a workforce through a CR program planned for this fall would immediately offer opportunities to provide much needed skilled jobs as we immediately “harden” our homes and buildings with this fire-retardant spray.
IHI is also partnered with one of the nation’s leading solar experts (President of Elements of Earth and Energy), natural materials builders such as Isaac Lyons (Humbuildt Homes), and we manage a weekly international call where we have access to the top talent around the world (countries like Australia, Sweden, Ukraine, Latvia) which have already started to embrace hempcrete.
In my role as board president of the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau, I see a wonderful opportunity for environmental and business tourism revenue as the rest of the country seeks to learn about our industry to bring protection and wealth to us. My family chose Humboldt because we can see the future from here.
Ken Hamik serves as a board member of the Indigenous Habitat Institute, and as president of the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau, as well as being an industry advisor to both Cal Poly Humboldt and College of the Redwoods.
This post was originally published on here
