A social enterprise non-profit called Common Knowledge based out of Ireland, along with an England-based hemp farm called Margent Farm, are teaming up to create tiny homes made from hemp.
Referred to as Tigín Tiny Homes, each building was crafted with three goals in mind: “sustainable, affordable, and consciously designed.” A single home covers 20 square meters (about 215 square feet if you’re using U.S. measurements) and offers high ceilings to give the home a “lofty, bright feel.” The bedroom is large enough for a king size bed, located on a mezzanine level, but the living space includes a pull-out guest bed. Other necessities, such as an oven, gas hobs, a sink, a shower, and even a compost toilet, can fit into the modest homes. Underneath the home, insulation is made from “breathable cork across a framework of pine.”
The hemp comes into play as a part of the exterior of the homes, which will use corrugated hemp sheets from Margent Farm. “The fibres sequester carbon, locking it in and stopping it releasing back into the atmosphere, resulting in a very low-carbon product. The high cellulose content (60 – 70%) of the plant makes it a very strong and durable material. The sheet is bound with a sugar based resin made entirely from agricultural waste. Our hemp sheets are a natural alternative to corrugated steel, PVC, bitumen and cement,” Margent Farm says on its website. “The sheets can be used externally to form a rain screen or internally as ceiling or wall linings or other acoustic treatments. The product is natural and like timber exposed to UV the colour will lighten over time,” Margent Farm continues.
Photo by Shantaru Starick
Margent Farm also shares that making these sheets takes 5.7 times less energy than it takes to make aluminum, 2.6 less energy than bitumen plastic, …
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Author: Nicole Potter / High Times
