Being a Builder for the First Time

I am not one to “build things.” Never a fan of Legos and having a medium fear of power tools, I shockingly decided to pursue an internship with a natural building company. I’m not entirely sure what I thought I was getting myself into, but building with hempcrete was a welcomed surprise. 

Located in a shaded grove, the HempShed gave me the nostalgic feeling of summer camp from the nature smells and the exhaustion of doing labor all day. I was a little freaked out by the fact that lime is caustic, but I quickly forgot that when I took to pounding hempcrete into the walls with pieces of wood and mixing the material by hand. It felt like a very authentic Introduction to Building. 

Watching something be installed from start to finish is also a beautiful process. The layers of hempcrete revealed themselves as something that can only be compared to a landscape painting. I hope one day to install hempcrete with color to further this effect. 

In doing any work with HempStone, communication is the first rule. I am glad I got my first labor experience where this was encouraged. It allowed me to explore this new venture without pushing my comfort zone too much and created an environment where I felt supported in what I could give to the project. For any nervous first-time builders, not to fret; even I could handle it with my noodle arms and lack of experience!  

From my experience as a first-time builder, I gave myself the opportunity to make my noodle arms less noodle-y and began the process of being less afraid of power tools. They truly are tools to help you, not hurt you! I am excited to see how I develop in this new role and look forward to spreading hempcrete knowledge far and wide. 

Me getting my hands dirty!