South Africa's first holistic health centre has been built from bricks made from hemp, a first cousin of dagga, in Johannesburg.

Tony Vaughan, says there is a need for sustainable development and architecture needs to be more respectful towards the environment.

"Alternative building methods can often be both cheaper and more ecologically sustainable. Hemp products are made from the pulp of a plant that has been around for centuries and is currently enjoying international revival. And, this industrial variety does not include getting high as one of its 25 000 uses," says Vaughan.

The bricks included in the design of the health centre, Naturally Yours, were part of an organic construction package including mealie cobs for under-floor insulation, and floor tiles cut from sandstone in which the outline of fossilised plants are visible. The foundation stone includes quartz crystal and Ammonite shell. An eco-friendly builder made the hemp bricks from dried pulp from Europe, which were used with traditional bricks. Canada and England are among 30 industrialised countries to embrace the fibrous industrial hemp. "When combined with sisal, industrial hemp is stronger than steel," says Vaughan.

"Unfortunately, due to limited production because of drug laws (in America and South Africa the cultivation of industrial hemp is illegal), the cost of building with hemp is about 10% higher than brick and mortar. "Building materials made from the plant are naturally waterproof, non-flammable and insect resistant. In the field, the plant requires little care and no pesticides, while its deep roots act as natural soil aerators. With an average growth rate of 75 days from seedling to maturity, producers can reap two to three harvests yearly."

Industrial hemp is a highly versatile natural product and is used to make blankets, mattresses, curtains, carpets, towels, even surfboards and a range of toiletries and beauty products.

Europe's currency, the Euro, is printed on paper made from hemp, which is acid-free and has a lifespan 10 times that of wood-based paper. In Oregon, US, where large-scale deforestation has occurred as the needs of the building industry have grown, some mills are turning out particle board from hemp, which is termite-resistant, and in Europe, it is being used for insulation and roofing. Vaughan says it would be the ideal crop for the impoverished Eastern Cape.

The industrial variety could offer solutions to unemployment and start an entire new industry. The first tentative moves to introduce industrial hemp to South Africa have already been taken.

An associate of the founder of the health centre has planted his first crop in the Transkei with a permit from the agricultural research council, and the government is being lobbied to decriminalise the product.This article was originally published on page 5 of The Cape Argus on May 30, 2004

Source: The Argus