MINNESOTA TRIBE BUILDS FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND MANUFACTURING FACILITY FOR GAME-CHANGING BUILDING MATERIAL: ‘A NO-BRAINER’
“What the Lower Sioux is doing is the most compelling and forward-thinking thing that’s happening in hempcrete today.”
A Minnesota tribe is at the forefront of efforts to introduce a futuristic building material to the United States, with a first-of-its-kind manufacturing facility expected to be completed in April.
Grist reported that the Lower Sioux, who are part of the Mdewakanton Band of Dakota, are building a 20,000-square-foot campus that will help the tribe regain some of its sovereignty and facilitate the construction of houses from hempcrete, a sustainable material made from lime, water, and hemp.
The facility will be the only one stateside involved in the growth of the hemp, the production of the hempcrete, and the building of the houses.
“The idea of making homes that would last and be healthy was a no-brainer,” tribal council president Robert “Deuce” Larsen told Grist. “We need to build capacity in the community and show that it can be an income stream.