Nomenclature, anyone?

Several months back, Alex Sparrow and I (Jennifer Martin) initiated a little chat. This quickly turned into a debate, and then transformed into a vibrant (and rather long-winded) discussion. Eventually, this culminated as a robust article on the subject of terms.

About what? Natural building, of course.

Precisely, our discussion was about the nomenclature of this bio-composite insulation and walling material that we, practitioners at HempStone and UK Hempcrete, are driven to understanding, working with, and centering our lives around. What on earth should we call it?

Hempcrete

Hemp-lime

Hemp Concrete

We had a blast thinking through the finer points of nomenclature, and I at least learned a ton in the process. We think you might as well, so without further ado, we offer you the article, published by USHBA.

What’s in a name?

article excerpt:

Current terminology: love it, or hate it?

The terms Hempcrete and Hemp-lime are used interchangeably to describe the biocomposite insulation and walling material produced when chopped hemp hurd is mixed with a mineral binder. Various proprietary binder mixes exist; most of which are currently imported to the USA from Europe, to bridge the gap until USA produced binder mixes are formulated, tested and brought to market here.

The two terms are both straight translations from the French (France being where hempcrete was first formulated) and the terms Beton de chanvre (Hemp concrete), and Chanvre chaux or Chanvre et chaux (hemp-lime, or hemp and lime) are also used interchangeably there.

When the material was first used in England in the late 1990s, the term “hemp concrete”, was quickly contracted to the catchier, and possibly more marketable, Hempcrete.

While all in the industry understand the two terms to mean the same thing, it’s striking that…….. read more

Photo Credit: Alex Sparrow of UK Hempcrete