2021 was a good year for hemp, whats in store for 2022.

What stood out for you in 2021? For hemp it seemed like a year of growth, though the coronathon was hitting us wave after wave and we survived the endless bombardment of media droning on and on about whatever agenda got the most clicks, some hemp companies forged ahead.

Made an actual positive difference to this planet and survived despite the economic hard times and shut downs.

Hempitecture, Inc. has been raising money to build a manufacturing facility to make their HempWool insulation product. They were able to raise almost $1 million in the first two days of an investor crowdfunding campaign. The factory, expected to be operational by May 2022, will turn out HempWool, a sustainable, high-performing fiber insulation for residential and commercial construction projects. Hempitecture holds the U.S. patent for HempWool insulation, which is produced through proprietary textile technology.

House of hemp based in Sweden were resposible for building prefabricated sections of a new primary school in Gothenburg which was a showcase for progressive lowered carbon building methods, this is a no-brainer not only in housing but espesially in schools and public places were non toxic building materials can be used. I had to include this as I work and live in Gothenburg.

 

Hempwood has to be one of the most beautiful and impressive creations using hempcrete. They amazingly made it through the pandemic and have some amazing products. Check out their flooring options which is in my opinion the most beautiful flooring available. The engineered format offers ease of installation, multiple subfloor applications, and the ability to be refinished up to four times. HempWood® flooring has a Janka Hardness Rating of 2,200 lbf, which is 20% harder than hickory.

Hempblock an Australian company secured the exclusive distributorship in the USA for a hempcrete building system it says is cost competitive with traditional construction. Queensland-based HempBLOCK Australia also has begun marketing and selling the bio-based system, made by the French firm Vieille Matériaux, in Australia and New Zealand.

Johan Tijssen, Director at HempBLOCK operations in the USA and Australia, said the extensive research his company has undertaken confirmed conditions are right for entering the U.S. market. “The residential construction market in the U.S. is huge,” said Tijssen, noting 416,000 single unit residential building permits were issued last year, with 90% timber framed and 10% from concrete masonry. He said HempBLOCK is targeting six key residential construction growth regions in the U.S.

Obelisk Farm

 in Latvia remains one of our favourite family run farms, the passion shown by this family through their website and social media shines through and overflows into their products. They have a hemp museum now on their farm and often have tours and held building workshops with hempcrete.

Balanced Earth Building

 in Australia has to be possibly our favourite hempcrete building company, working in the construction industry myself I love their award winning builds and often their use of recycled materials. Always taking into account the impact on nature while at the same time creating buildings that display many many years of experience of creating something beautiful.

Hempire from Ukraine has to also be mentioned. Their dome shaped hemp creations have always been impressive to me and the passion of the founder Sergiy Kovalenkov is clear over the many years of creating and growing to build and lecture in many countries around the world about hempcrete.

We know we have not included many many companies here and our list could go on forever but these are just a few of the various projects happening all around our beautiful globe. We wish all of you a prosperious and blessed 2022.