By Aleeza Nawab
Hemp is the botanical class of Cannabis sativa. It is one of the fastest growing plants on earth. Along with that hemp is the first most to be spun into fiber. We all know Cannabis as medicinal plant. But with medicinal uses, it is most important part of our industry. Many commercial items like plastic and biofuels are made from wild hemp. But there is one thing amazing that we can build our low cost houses from hemp that are fire free, light weight and also act as insulators. Normally bricks are made up of cement or clay. Their production is harmful for our environment. Hempcrete cut down the major problem of concrete waste and used in place of common construction material like drywalls and plaster that accounts for 8% of the total building construction debris. Bricks are kept under fire for drying. It is done by burning coal in most of the countries. It pollutes our air and land. On the other hand, production of cement bricks is responsible for 7% of the total world carbon dioxide. Recent studies have shown that Hemp is used for construction purposes for thousands of years. Hemp locks carbon dioxide within it. Hemp made houses can move without little or no crack. If crack appears, it can be healed naturally as it’s the magical property of hemp. Hempcrete is a material that is mixed with blinder made into blocks or panels after hardening. Hempcrete sequester 307 kg of carbon dioxide per cubic meter that equals annual carbon emission from refrigerator. It can be replaced by plastic which give harm to our environment. Instead, hemp is also used in “Elora caves”. Hemp brick is made from hemp wood, lime, hemp, and some mineral binders. Hemp blocks are used differently e-g high density and monolithic walls are made and low-density blocks are used in roof insulation. For making plaster hemp fibers are used. Hempcrete block has a compressive strength of 3MPa as compared to concrete block that has compressive strength of 5MPa. The oil extracted from seeds of hemp is used for wood polishing. So officially hemp cultivation is banned in Pakistan, so no one wants to work for hemp because majority of the peoples use this for making drugs. Although hemp is useful, but it has also strong medicinal properties. Here are some advantages of making hemp homes. Hemp made homes are 20% less cost as compared to cement homes. Hemp act as best insulator means that it can keep our homes cool in summers and hot in winters. Hemp made homes are ecofriendly, sustainable, termite free, moisture resistant and fire resistant. Due to their light weight, hemp houses are protected during earthquakes. Hempcrete has high thermal capacity and is good for wall insulations. Buildings have been built up with hempcrete in France, UK, Belgium, Italy and Northernlands.It was found that British Science Museum Groups Artifacts Storage Capacity used hempcrete for housing towers hundreds of years ago. The worth of Hemp products in international market is $45 billion dollars and will exceed upto$100 till 2026.Recently during the meeting ,the committee was told that 93kg of hemp was produced in collaboration with PMAS-AAUR .73kg was sent to Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research laboratories for approval of hemp policy .The National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and technology was told that Pakistan could fetch $3billion by 2026 and can help country to diversify its exports by direct tapping into cannabis market .
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