A new hemp building organization launched its website late last month with a familiar face in a central leadership role. Jacob Waddell, who served as executive director of the US Hemp Building Association until summer 2022, announced a new non-profit, The Hemp Building Institute, based in Nashville, TN.
The goal of the institute will be to raise money to create codes and standards, perform necessary testing for the industry, and educate the public on the uses of hemp building materials, Waddell said. The HBI will also consult in Kenya to build the new hemp-building industry there, he said.
The new organization will continue some of the work on hemp building materials standards begun by the USHBA, specifically to finish work to complete the “commentary” section of the International Residential Code for hemp-lime as a wall infill insulation material.
Waddell and members of the USHBA were able to acquire acceptance from the International Commercial Code for hemp-lime into US residential building codes under an appendix to the IRC for the new code to be released in 2024.
“We think we might have a simple way of getting into the International Building Code, which would reference the International Residential Code and simplify the process a great deal,” Waddell told HempBuild Mag.
Jean Lotus is the editor and publisher of HempBuild Magazine.
Read the full article at HempBuild Magazine.
