The Branching Out project is sponsoring two Taranaki locals to attend a hemp construction course
Building on promising hemp growing trials as part of our Branching Out project, and with further plans to support the establishment of a hemp processor in 2025 (watch this space!), we want to extend the opportunity to attend a hemp construction course to local licensed builders, architects, draughtspeople, engineers, or related professionals who have a genuine interest in using hemp that will be grown and processed in Taranaki in future sustainable construction projects.
The growing and processing of hemp fibre for construction has been identified as an industry with great potential for Taranaki. By 2030, Venture Taranaki has a vision of Taranaki becoming the largest North Island hub for the production and innovation of industrial hemp (iHemp fibre).
With four houses in Taranaki having been constructed from hempcrete, our region is one of the leaders of New Zealand in the real-world application of hempcrete in construction.
Given the many benefits of hemp fibre, both in terms of its building attributes and its environmental advantages over traditional construction material, we see a real opportunity for our region to be a leader in this growing industry.
About the workshop and sponsorship
Hosted by Hemp Central, in partnership with Australian Hemp Masonry Company, the course includes:
3 x 2 hour zoom sessions covering theory (online) on the 3rd, 10th and 17th of September between 7-9pm. Please note this online component is self-funded by the successful applicants and costs $360.
1 x day practical training giving you experience in mixing and installing hempcrete in Wānaka, New Zealand, on Saturday 12 October 2024. This part of the course, including travel and accommodation, is funded by Venture Taranaki.
Venture Taranaki will provide funding for each successful applicant including:
- Costs of the practical workshop valued at $360
- 2 x nights accommodation in Wānaka
- Return flights to Wānaka
- Please note the theory component ($360) will need to be paid by each successful applicant
What you will learn
The theory part of the course will cover:
- The history of Hemp construction
- Hemp construction and the Building Code
- Applications in new residential and commercial building, as well as in retrofitting
- The material’s performance characteristics
- Where you can and can’t use hempcrete
- Design detailing
- Tools, options for formwork and formwork set up
- Workplace health and safety
- Making mixes and installation guidelines
- Techniques for managing curing
- Optional external and internal finishes
- Repairs and making changes.
The practical part of the course will include:
- Experience in mixing and installing hempcrete
- Hands-on experience learning to mix the hurd and binder well
- Learning techniques for using hempcrete to ensure that the end result looks good as well as providing optimal thermal and acoustic performance
About our hemp growing trials and our plans for the future
The Branching Out project, led by Venture Taranaki, is currently coordinating hemp growing trials in the region, with promising results from our Year On trials (2023/24). We had excellent plant establishment, and the cultivars selected for fibre production performed well in our local conditions. Based on these results, we plan to extend the trials into Year Two (2024/25) to gather more comprehensive data. This will help us better understand the optimal sowing dates, how the plants respond to the local environment, and will allow assess fibre quality.
Additionally, we intend to scale up the growing area, which will enable us to produce a marketable quantity of hemp.
Looking ahead, Venture Taranaki has secured funding to establish a hemp processing facility capable of handling up to 500 tonnes of hemp per year, equivalent to the yield from approximately 70 hectares.
This facility is expected to be operational by late 2025. The Branching Out team has validated the market demand for the output of the facility – initially likely to be supply into North Island hempcrete house builds.
Alongside this we are focusing on the development of modular building products using hemp, and the initial results are encouraging. However, the horizon for manufacturing and launching these products is medium term.
Learn more about our hemp fibre project below, including our blueprint outlining the opportunity for hemp in Taranaki.
Watch: NZ hemp construction in action
This three minute video provides a great summary of hempcrete house builds, featuring Lochlan Urquhart, from Wānaka-based Erkhart Construction.
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