Lakota Hempcrete House Project

In December, 2007, Alex and Debra White Plume’s house burned down. Alex is the most-celebrated hemp farmer in the world.
Alex and Debra have built a temporary house, using material from the White Plume Community Center that was only built a few years ago. The Community Center is a model wind-and-solar energy installation.
The wind turbine and solar panels were installed by Matt Rankin’s High Plains Wind & Solar.
Hemphasis and the White Plume clan collaborated with American Limetec of Chicago to rebuild the Community Center with a model hempcrete installation.
The crew prepares the building for its Hemcrete® insulative walls. We cut a window where one was needed. The Hemcrete® materials. “Hemp shiv” (or shive) is the hurds of hemp stalks, what’s left after the fiber has been stripped from the stalk. It looks like wood chips. “Hemp Binder” is a high-lime cement mix. The shiv, binder, and water are combined to produce the wall, which we will (below) place in forms and allow to set up. Learn more about these products at American Limetec.
After removing the chipboard underlay, we place mesh over the studs on the ouside. The mesh will become the outer surface of the hempcrete walls, providing an anchoring surface for the stucco/plaster that will be applied after the hempcrete cures. After the mesh is put up, the chipboard is nailed back on as a temporary outer form, to prevent the mesh from bowing out during the process of filling and tamping the hemp- crete.