Straw and Hemp Walls

Time for a little good news (via Star Tribune business columnist Evan Ramstad, gift link).

Minnesota is likely to be the first U.S. state to allow the use of straw and hemp as building materials, in part because the Lower Sioux Indian Community was experimenting with the materials because they're exempt from state building code rules. They've shown that the materials work.

Both materials are waste from other agricultural production that create environmentally sound insulation, while making stronger walls as well. 

The end of the article particularly got me:

The Lower Sioux crews are building hempcrete-insulated homes for about $170 per square foot.... That’s well below the $230 per square foot that is at the low end of builder-grade homes in Minnesota these days. Desjarlais acknowledged the tribe doesn’t face some permitting costs that builders off the reservation do and isn’t trying to make a profit off construction.

“We win in the long run with better homes that are healthier and longer-lasting,” he said. “These walls should last forever. They’re not going to be mold-ridden. If you have to take it down, you can grind it up and put it in your next [hempcrete] mix. It’s recyclable.” 

The tribe is paying people to do this work (as well as other builders), but it's not trying to extract wealth out of the area. It's in business, but not for capitalist purposes. Instead, it's in the business of building a livable and sustainable place for its people. 

What a concept!