Historic Hempcrete Housing Project Launches in Humboldt County with Global Collaboration

Press release from the Indigenous Habitat Institute:

A groundbreaking international collaboration is making a lasting impact at the local level as experts from around the world gather at Hoopa Modular to pioneer the production of prefabricated hempcrete walls and model scalability across regions.

The first permitted 700 sq ft ADU in the City of Eureka is a landmark project in Humboldt County. It marks the first integration of California building codes with French construction standards, utilizing certified hemp and lime from France to design a prefabricated wall system for rapid construction. The goal is to hyper localize the supply chain to reduce the carbon footprint of this type of building in the near future.

This project is spearheaded by the Indigenous Habitat Institute (IHI), which aims to transfer knowledge from hempcrete prefabricated building leaders in France, Sweden, and Latvia to North America. The coalition includes esteemed institutions, organizations, and individuals such as Building Lives by Building Structures (BLBS), College of the Redwoods (CR), Danco Builders, Backman Builders, Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, and other key partners. Together, they are developing various components of the industry, including workforce training for the building profession, local timber and panel production, and demonstration projects showcasing hempcrete’s energy-efficient, fire-retardant, and mold-resistant capabilities.

IHI’s hempcrete work on the first wall panels, currently being assembled at the Hoopa Modular plant under BLBS, under the leadership of Franklin Richards has fostered new collaborations in energy-efficient construction, such as BLBS-led tiny home initiatives. Franklin say, “Together we rise!”

And most recently, Mad River Mass Timber and IHI have agreed to collaborate with both organizations working on natural, sustainable, and prefabricated building systems.

“This project is not just about innovation in construction; it’s about collaboration with regional industries and creating sustainable, culturally aware housing solutions that serve our communities,” said Lisa Sundberg, CEO and founder of the Indigenous Habitat Institute. “By blending global expertise with local needs, we’re pioneering a new path forward for affordable and resilient housing that will ultimately secure regional housing.”

International guests include Peter Holmdahl, a Swedish American living in Paris and IHI board member, who is passionate about hempcrete as a building material and finding global solutions that can be manufactured locally. He has been teaching and promoting hempcrete’s use under professional guidelines, first in his home country and now abroad. He recruited Austris Kozuliņš, a wood and prefabricated building expert from Latvia, who is also onsite. “This is a historic moment to have a permitted home built to meet standards and codes in California. We are excited to work with those interested in making this material available to those who can benefit from it,” says Holmdahl.

From February 6-9, the group will be at Hoopa Modular assembling the first of these hempcrete prefabricated walls, highlighting their potential for broader adoption in California and throughout the United States and North America.