HempLogic

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Cannabis in 18th-century Augusta County? Absolutely!

By Nancy Sorrells
Source: newsleader.com

This woodcut from an almanac shows fiber production on an American farm. The man just
outside the barn is using a break to crush the stems of a fiber plant – either flax or hemp –
in order to remove the plants' outer husk. The man standing in the open barn door area is
working on the next stage of fiber processing, which is called scutching. / Courtesy of Nancy Sorrells

When I recently read about the marijuana plants being secretly cultivated by trespassers at the Frontier Culture Museum, I couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the historic irony. For you see, a place that interprets the Shenandoah Valley frontier might actually want to grow cannabis on its 18th century farm if it could be done legally! That’s what Augusta County farmers did in the 1760s and 1770s to the tune of big dollars.

Of course, the cannabis plant that was grown on the frontier differed from those being illegally grown at the Frontier Culture Museum in the fact that it contained much lower percentages of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) than those plants grown today as a recreational drug that people use to get high. In much the same way was as there are different varieties of roses or corn, there are different varieties of cannabis. Most of the 2,000 or so cannabis varieties contain less than .3 percent THC while those grown for recreational use have anywhere from 2 to 20 percent THC in the final product.

So, back to the cannabis plant grown in Augusta County known as hemp. This plant was grown for the fibers in its stalk which, when properly prepared, could be used to make rope or cloth, especially sailcloth on ships. In fact, the word canvas actually comes from the word cannabis.

The cultivation of cannabis as a fiber plant is thousands and thousands of years old. In a time when a country with the biggest navy ruled the world, the cultivation of hemp was huge – being used as the fibrous caulk to seal spaces between boards for watertight ship building, as ropes for rigging, and as the sails themselves. Christopher Columbus’ ships contained hemp.

Because of a combination of factors, Augusta County turned out to be a perfect place to cultivate hemp starting in the late 1750s. Before that time, the Valley had a mixed farming economy with wheat, rye, oats, and corn being grown and cattle, hogs, and sheep being the main livestock. Unlike the rest of Virginia, tobacco was not grown in great quantities. This was not because tobacco did not grow well here, because it did. It was more a matter of how to get the finished product to the seaboard markets.

So, when the Virginia government started offering subsidies to help offset poor tobacco prices and encourage international trade, Augusta County farmers jumped at the opportunity to carve out a place for hemp production within their mixed farming routine. The Virginia legislature paid farmers four shillings per hundredweight of hemp harvested, and added two more shillings for each hundredweight shipped to England. The incentive was tailor made for the Valley farmers who had come from the north of Ireland and knew fiber production. In Ireland, their main agricultural cash crop came from turning flax into linen. They knew how to grow and process flax and turn this fiber crop into a finished product. The process for turning hemp into a useful fiber was almost identical.

Hemp plants were pulled out by the roots in the fall and laid out in the fields to rot (called rhetting) after being repeatedly wet by the weather. The process, which took as long as three months, broke down the gums and hard outside layers of the plant stems to reveal the inner fibers. Once this was finished, the plants were broken on a wooden break. At this point the hemp was called gross hemp and was sometimes sold at this stage for someone else to process further into rope or cloth. However most Valley farmers took the processing at least one step further and scutched their hemp to remove all of the pieces of bark. The product was now called neat hemp. The final processing stage was called hackling, where the fibers were pulled through a series of metal spikes in order to straighten the long fibers and orient them all in the same direction. If you are interested in seeing this process in detail, the Frontier Museum does process flax into linen.

Two sources of information help us understand the importance of hemp to the farming economy of Augusta County. First the court order books of the time record the men who turned in hemp to receive their government subsidy. These men were issued hemp certificates that could be used to pay taxes. A bundle of about 100 certificates presented in lieu of cash for taxes still is preserved in the Augusta County courthouse.

The first known response to government encouraged hemp cultivation by Augusta County farmers is in November 1759, when James Craig received his bounty for 687 pounds of cleaned hemp. Two years later Thomas Lewis, the son of area founder John Lewis, turned in 3,393 pounds of “winter rotted, clean bright hemp” in February 1762.

Both Craig and Lewis received a tidy profit from their hemp venture. It took six tons of harvested hemp to produce a ton of marketable hemp. An acre yielded about 500 pounds of hemp, so Craig would have had about eight acres under cultivation and Lewis about 40 acres. In 1760, neat hemp brought anywhere from 25 to 26 shillings per 100 pounds. Add in the bounty of four shillings per hundred pounds, and Craig made a profit of 9 pounds and Lewis gained 45 pounds. However, during this period the hemp had to be taken by wagon to Philadelphia, which would probably have reduced their profits by as much as 10 percent, according to historians.

During the American Revolution the need for hemp skyrocketed and Augusta County farmers led the nation in production. Of course, the processed hemp was no longer shipped in England, but rather used for the American war effort where the demand for sailcloth, canvas, sacks, and rope was intense for both the army and the navy.

Again the government stepped in to subsidize production. I find it ironic in this day where the political rhetoric is so tinged with smaller government and privatization statements that the success of our very founding was based so heavily on government help. In the Valley, for instance, the main hindrance to increased hemp production had always been transportation costs.

So, Virginia stepped in and subsidized those costs. Farmers had only to take their product to a local collection point and government officials took over from there with government hired wagons and drivers. In Staunton, the new Virginia government paid for the construction of a sail cloth factory so manufacture could take place where the product was grown.

The result was that Augusta County hemp production doubled during the American Revolution. Between 1776 and 1783, about 16,000 acres of hemp were cultivated in the Valley of Virginia, with Augusta leading the way with 9,000 acres being grown. Botetourt was second and Frederick was third. In Augusta somewhere between 700 and 750 farmers, or one in ten, jumped on the bandwagon.

When the state more or less took over the hemp trade it forever altered Augusta County’s trade patterns – orienting them more toward Richmond. Before the Revolution, most of Augusta’s trade went to Philadelphia.

So, from 1776 onward, Augusta was oriented more east than north with its trade and communication patterns. During the Revolution, hemp and butter headed to Richmond in large quantities. The return load always contained salt, an essential that is not found naturally in the Shenandoah Valley, and other commercial manufactured goods.

The rise of hemp production had one other lasting effect on Augusta County, when in the the 1760s that large numbers of enslaved African-Americans appeared. There were some African-Americans before that but in low numbers and many were free.

Cannabis-made army uniform suggested at ideas contest in Taraz

Source: tengrinews.kz

Cannabis-made army uniform suggested at ideas contest in Taraz

Ardak Tlendiyev. Photo courtesy of Soyuz Atameken

One of the participants of Atameken Startup Weekend business-projects contest suggested to use cannabis in making of uniforms for Kazakhstan army. The contest was held in Taraz,Tengrinews.kz reports citing the press-service of Soyuz Atameken.

One of the young participants Ardak Tlendiyev suggested to dress Kazakhstan army in a medical-purpose uniform tailored from cannabis fabric. "In his opinion, this disputed plant has more advantages than disadvantages if used in the industry. For example, first Levi's jeans were made of cannabis-based fiber. First paper in China was also made of cannabis. Moreover, cannabis can also be used to make fuel: cannabis flesh can be processed into wood spirit, methane, ethanol and petrol. Cannabis seeds are edible; they are very valuable and nutritious and contain vegetable fats and proteins. And finally, cannabis contains over 60 chemicals that can be used in medicine," the message states.

According to press-service of Atameken, the audience "exploded with applause and cheering" when their heard the idea. "The joy of the young people was understandable: they heard the word that bothering them a lot, because they are also worried about the problem of annihilation of the Chu Valley". The Chu Valley located between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan is the home to an extremely hardy type of marijuana that is a source of cannabis.

According to the business-plan, the young inventor needs investments of $30 thousand to implement the project. According to Ardak, the annual income can reach $125 thousand, but the jury reminded him that earlier German investors wanted to build a factory to processing cannabis for production of ropes, however Kazakhstan authorities did not approve of this idea and did not let the foreigners into the Chu Valley. In the end the project did not make it to the final and was not approved.

For more information see:http://en.tengrinews.kz/science/Cannabis-made-army-uniform-suggested-at-ideas-contest-in-Taraz-14417/
Use of the Tengrinews English materials must be accompanied by a hyperlink to en.Tengrinews.kz

From Cavemen to Statesmen, Marijuana has Endured the Ages.

By Vivian McPeak

Source: blog.seattlepi.com

As the Woodstock Generation eases into its golden years, there may be reason for some of us to continue our decadent youthful ways. Some of the world’s longest living people, such as in Bama, use cannabis/hemp in their daily meal program. The seeds of the plant have high amounts of minerals, vitamins, protein, and essential fatty acids. The cannabis/hemp seed is said to offer the most complete amino acid profile of any plant protein. Recent science suggests that the nefarious herb may even have properties that retard cancer tumor growth. More scientific study is needed.

As the demand for the oil and hulled seed continues to grow, the hemp-seed food industry is emerging. Why is the seed so nutritious? The cannabis plant is very efficient at soaking up nutrients out of the earth –B vitamins, minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron, and zinc. It also provides 30% protein and superior fiber. The seed is taken from the strain of the plant that has no psychoactive properties, the same strain that is used to make rope.

While the average American may associate the use of the plant we call “marijuana”—a Mexican slang term adopted by early prohibitionists—with hippies, patchouli and Bob Marley music, human beings have been imbibing it for thousands of years. Humans have employed the cannabis plant as food, medicine, fiber, oil, recreation and religion as long as human beings have been walking on this cosmic little clod of stardust.

Indigenous to Central and South Asia, cannabis/hemp is believed to originate high in the Himalayas, where it was transported to other parts of the world. It did not take long for the fibrous herb to become a staple. The oldest example of human industry is a swatch of hemp fabric dated approximately 8,000 BC. Mentioned in the Assyrian scripts, the fabric was discovered in Mesopotamia.

And it was not just textiles that were turning people on during those long, cold days and nights in the mudflats. Charred pot-seeds were found at an ancient Roman burial site, in a ritual brazier in present -day Romania. The Assyrians also used Cannabis to gain a higher perspective, after they were hooked up by the Aryans. Members of the ancient Cult of Dionyus (Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy) are also believed to have been heavy inhalers of burned cannabis foliage.

Cannabis has been considered a medicinal must have for millennia. The Persian prophet Zoroaster lists cannabis as a priority item in the sacred text, the Zend-Avesta, which contains 10,000 plants. Detailed mention of cannabis was also found in the pharmacopoeia of Shen Nung, considered one of the fathers of Chinese medicine. In 2003, a 2,500- to 2,800-year-old mummified shaman was discovered in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygar Autonomous Region of China. The Irie shaman was found with a leather basket of pot seeds and leaf fragments.

It is known that hemp rope was used to work the large blocks of stone required for the construction of the Pyramids, and that the ropes and sails of the ships Columbus sailed to America were made of hemp. Columbus also had hemp seed and oil on board for the journey. Not long after, there were pilgrims arriving at Plymouth Rock. Guess what they brought with them? Hemp seeds.

Parts of our American heritage have been hidden from us, sanitized from modern history books.

In 1776, the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper, and at one time raw hemp fiber was considered legal tender in the Thirteen Colonies. Both George Washington and Ben Franklin were hemp farmers. The first U.S. flag was made from hemp fabric. Henry Ford designed his first cars to run on hemp biomass; he even built an impact-resistant car out of hemp composite.

Eventually, the United States government got directly involved in hemp production. On the land where the Pentagon now stands, 13-foot-tall hemp plants once grew. A government botanist named Lyster H. Dewey kept a meticulous diary for a quarter century, detailing the growth of such strains of the plant as “Kymington, Yarrow, Tochigi, Tochimington, Keijo and Chinamington hemp”. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was paying Dewey to produce the finest quality hemp for the oil and fiber it could produce. In the 1940s, the land was given to the War Department so that it could be used for the creation of the Pentagon, which stands there today.

Humans have used cannabis/hemp for millennia, and there is no indication we are going to stop anytime soon. A recent United Nations report suggests that 147 million people the world over use cannabis regularly, despite its illegality.

In our country, Colorado and Washington state voters legalized small amounts of cannabis recently, and everyone is waiting to see how our federal government responds to the groundbreaking legislation.

The laws that prohibit cannabis/hemp all over the world are ignoring history by asking humans not to use a substance that has been around as long as we have. In the 1930’s, during the reefer madness lunacy, hemp seeds were removed from birdseed. Congress quickly exempted bird seed from the prohibition policies when it was reported that the songbirds refused to sing without their hempseed.

Let the songbird of freedom sing, and end prohibition by getting cannabis/hemp off the federal schedule.

Local hemp products go down a treat at world food expo

The GOOD product range

Source: northdevongazette.co.uk

Aymeric Denoeud, managing director of GOOD HEMP (third from left) is pictured picking up the award with (from left) the event host, Olivia Grobois director of SIAL Paris and SIAL Group, and Xavier Terlet CEO of global food industry consultant XTC World Innovation

A NORTH Devon food company has won a major innovation award at an international food industry exhibition in Paris.

Braham & Murray, based at Collabear Farm in Tawstock, was awarded the SIAL Innovation Award 2012 for its GOOD SEED range.

The company, which has already found fame with its GOOD OIL hemp seed oil, beat more than 1,500 entrants worldwide and was one of only 15 chosen by a panel of 30 food journalists.

It received the accolade at the climax of the biennial ‘Salon International de l’Alimentation’ (SIAL) convention, dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of the food industry, last week.

Henry Braham and wife Glynis Murray started farming hemp in North Devon in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis and are now the largest producers of hemp products in Europe.

Henry said: “We were really surprised to receive the call from the SIAL. This is simply the largest food show in the world. It is a fantastic opportunity for a small company like us.”

The latest award-winning product in the GOOD range is made with hemp seeds grown and shelled on the farm in North Devon. It can be eaten as a snack or sprinkled on cereals, soups and salads and was commended by judges for its taste, ethics and striking packaging.

“It is a very tasty seed – very similar to pine nuts – but it has amazing health benefits,” added Henry.

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Seminar homes in on benefits of hemp

By JOCE DeWITT
Source: gazettetimes.com

Seminar hones in on benefits of hemp

Anndrea Hermann gives a presentation Oregon State University on Tuesday about the
online course about industrial hemp that she will be offering spring term.
(Andy Cripe | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

Industrial hemp expert Anndrea Hermann gave Oregon State University faculty members and students a sneak peek Tuesday at a class she’ll offer through OSU’s Ecampus about the benefits of uses of the plant.

The preview came in the form of a seminar titled “Industrial Hemp Today, Where We Are, Where We’re Going,” and it offered context for the online class, which will be offered this spring through the College of Forestry. It will focus on the botany and biology of hemp, as well as the implications of legal and social issues surrounding its use.

Hermann, who will instruct the industrial hemp course, is the president of the Hemp Industries Association and owns The Ridge International Cannabis Consulting.

Hermann, who lives in Canada, said she was excited that OSU decided to incorporate industrial hemp into its curriculum and recognize its significance.

“This is the first time in world history that we know of that a four-credit class solely based on industrial hemp is being offered,” she said. “It’s a cool thing for the university to put it out there.”

Hemp generally refers to varieties of the plant Cannabis sativa that are relatively low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the active ingredient in marijuana. Of the roughly 2,000 varieties of Cannabis plants known, about 90 percent contain only low levels of THC and are most useful for their fiber, seeds and medicinal or psychoactive oils. Hemp is one of the earliest domesticated plants known.

Hermann introduced faculty members and students from the college to the basic premise of the course — and to the wide array of uses for hemp, which include use in various food products.

“I always say if it’s good food, hemp is good in it, on it or with it,” she said.

Hermann also expanded on the history and economy of the plant.

In the United States, she said, 11 states have legalized the cultivation of hemp, including Oregon.

“It’s important for us to be creating professionals,” she said. “People who have passion for hemp, they can incorporate it into their career.”

Department of Wood Science and Engineering professors John Simonsen and David Smith collaborated in the creation of the curriculum for the course. Simonsen and Smith said Hermann’s experience in the field made her a good choice to run the online class.

“It will be the kind of thing that will attract attention,” Smith said. “There are always a little bit of giggles, but people will recognize it has a very long history.”

He said the course is one of several within the department to highlight an evolving industry.

He listed as other examples courses about bioenergy and green building technology that recognize the need to contribute to a sustainable economy.

Hermann said she plans to have 26 guest lecturers for the hemp class, including researchers and professionals from Belgium, South Africa and Uruguay.

“I want to make sure I’m featuring people who are actually out there doing research,” she said. “We want the class to be rounded-out and not just my message.”

Industrial hemp could jump-start economy

by Amy Gillentine
Source: csbj.com

The Declaration of Independence was written on paper made of hemp. During World War II the federal government launched a “Hemp for Victory” campaign urging people to grow the plant to make ropes for the military.

Until the late 1800s, nearly all cloth and virtually all paper were made from hemp. It was so valuable that hemp could be used as money.

But that was then.

Today, industrial hemp isn’t strictly illegal, but farmers must get a permit from the Drug Enforcement Agency to grow it — something that’s proven impossible. Colorado and Washington have joined nine other states in legalizing the crop. But despite the passage of Amendment 64, the DEA still must give permission, even though states issue their own permits.

Colorado farmers could be able to grow industrial hemp as early as next summer, with state permits alone. It’s unclear if the federal government would raid industrial hemp farms operating without DEA permission.

Needless permits

Supporters say that it makes no sense to require federal permits. Hemp is harmless, they say, and can benefit the economy and environment. Hemp can remediate soil damage, be spun into clothing and bracelets, help create soaps and lotions, and even absorb tons of carbon dioxide a year. Currently, U.S. imports of hemp from Canada and China equal around $2 billion annually.

But the U.S. Department of Agriculture is skeptical, believing the market for hemp is “small and thin, and growing it in the U.S. would lead to oversupply.” However, more recent Canadian studies show a positive market outlook for that country’s crop, given growing consumer demand and low management requirements.

Hemp doesn’t require herbicides or pesticides, for example, and can be harvested up to four times a year.

The Canadian report is echoed by U.S. companies that import hemp for products. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, an all-natural, organic soap, spent $175,000 on the campaigns to legalize marijuana and hemp in Washington and Colorado. The company says Amendment 64 would “unlock the potential for industrial hemp to bolster the American economy,” said David Bronner, president of the company.

“Overall the market for hemp fiber and seed products at retail in the U.S. is over $450 million annually,” he said. “Sadly, because hemp has been caught up in this nation’s irrational marijuana prohibition laws, not a penny of that money goes to farmers in the U.S.”

Bronner imports more than 20 tons of hemp oil annually from Canada to make his family’s organic body-care products.

America is the only industrialized nation in the world that prohibits the commercial production of hemp, despite the fact that more hemp fiber, seed and oil are imported by the U.S. than any other country.

Supporters are quick to note that hemp is different than marijuana. Although hemp and marijuana are the same species of plant, hemp has no THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.

“Allowing the legal cultivation and processing of industrial hemp would provide Colorado and Washington with an infusion of new jobs and tax revenue in the near term,” said Michael Bronner, vice president of the company. “Our company is ready to invest in developing hemp production in the U.S.”

And the Bronners will have a chance to follow up on that promise — at least in Colorado. The Legislature, which passed a pro-hemp bill during the 2012 session, has to issue guidance to the Department of Revenue, which is also responsible for licensing medical marijuana grows.

Hemp won’t be a new subject for the Legislature, said Michael Slaugh, membership director for the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council. Last year, a bill to study hemp as a means to remediate damaged soil received widespread bipartisan support.

“They’re going to test it in Rocky Flats,” he said of the former weapons storage facility west of Denver, “because it can remove chemicals from soil, and it can be used to replenish damaged soil.”

Slaugh believes that industrial hemp could jump-start the state’s economy, and be used to offset carbon dioxide from power plants and cars. In fact, he says hemp can be used to make about 25,000 different products — fabrics and textiles, yarns, paper, carpeting, construction and insulation materials, auto parts, animal bedding, foods, beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

And that’s not all.

“It absorbs more carbon dioxide than natural-growth forests,” Slaugh said. “It makes cheaper paper, cheaper cloth — because it can be harvested four times a year, and forests take longer to recover.”

Possible fire mitigation

Slaugh thinks hemp could be a temporary answer for the burn scar from the Waldo Canyon fire. He said the plant could be used to keep soil from eroding and to remediate damaged soil to make way for trees.

He also thinks farmers are ready to grow the crop.

“Some older farmers might still remember when hemp was grown,” he said. “It’s eco- friendly. It works as food, fiber and fuel.”

The USDA, however, dismissed the idea years ago.

According to a 2000 report considering the market potential of the plant, the USDA says it doesn’t make sense to legalize it — despite interest from 19 states that considered it in the 1990s when Canada decriminalized hemp production.

“There’s some question as to whether hemp fibers can be profitably processed in the United States,” the report says. “Technologies used to process hemp fiber have not changed much, and they require capital investment and knowledge workers.”

Conflicting conclusions

The USDA believes that the U.S. hemp producers cannot compete against major suppliers such as China, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

“In addition, given the thinness of the current U.S. hemp fiber market, any overproduction could lead to lower prices and lost profitability,” the report said. “The U.S. market for hemp fibers is, and likely will remain, a small, thin market. Changes in price or quantity could be more disruptive and have a greater adverse impact on market participants that would be the case in a larger market.”

But the Congressional Research Service believes the time is ripe for hemp production — saying in a 2012 report that the market has proven profitable.

“Given the existence of these small-scale, but profitable, niche markets for a wide array of industrial and consumer products, commercial hemp industry in the United States could provide opportunities as an economically viable alternative crop for some U.S. growers,” the report said.

All that is beside the point, say supporters like the nonprofit group Vote Hemp.

“The market for industrial hemp products is growing rapidly,” the group says on its website. “But even if it were not, when has a crop ever been outlawed simply because government agencies thought it would be unprofitable to grow?”

Hemp by the numbers

25,000 - Number of products with hemp in them.

$2 billion - Estimated value of imported hemp.

$450 million - Estimated value of hemp industry in the United States.

11 - Number of states that have legalized industrial hemp production.

0 - Number of hemp farms that have received permission from the Drug Enforcement Agency to grow hemp in the United States.

Château Hemp?

A French winery made of hemp bricks is no joke—it's green, capturing carbon dioxide emissions

By Dana Nigro

Source: winespectator.com

At Château Maris, Robert Eden decided to build

the new winery out of lightweight hemp brick.

When he started planning a new winery for Château Maris in southern France's Languedoc region, Robert Eden looked at natural options such as stone, rammed earth and even straw. What he ended up choosing was something that, at least in certain crowds, elicits quips about marijuana—hemp. But it's no joke: The new Maris winery is built almost entirely from large, sturdy "bricks" of organic hemp straw. Those bricks not only reduced carbon emissions from construction, they also continue to capture carbon dioxide from their surroundings.

"This is the first winery in the world like this," claimed Eden of the 9,000-square-foot building, finished just in time for the 2012 harvest after eight years of work, five of them devoted to planning and research. "We're in unknown waters here."

Hemp—low-THC varieties of the cannabis plant with negligible psychoactive properties—has been used to build houses in Australia, Europe, South Africa and, just recently, in the United States, even though growing it and producing it industrially is illegal in many states. However, hemp is still rare for larger buildings. Eden hopes that other wineries can learn from Maris and use hemp bricks for future construction.

What inspired his choice? "As farmers, we are aware of climate change being a big game-changer for us," said Eden. An Englishman who has long lived in France, Eden took over Maris in 1996 with American business partner Kevin Parker, the former global head of Deutsche Asset Management and now CEO of New York-based Green Partners, a private investment firm investing in sustainable business and green energy.

With the goal of creating "grand cru-level" wines from La Livinière in the Minervois appellation, the partners converted the property to biodynamic farming; the entire estate is now certified by Demeter, Biodyvin, Ecocert and under the USDA's National Organic Program. In 2003, dissatisfied with the winery space they were using, they decided to create a new home for Maris. "We wanted to have a building that respects what we are doing in the vineyards in every way," said Eden, a vocal biodynamics advocate. "We wanted the building to require as little energy as possible to function, yet retain a sane, healthful ambiance. And the whole thing had to be practical."

In choosing materials, the Maris team looked at overall environmental impact, including where the materials came from, how they were transported and how they were made. They found the most ideal material in straw from fast-growing hemp, which does not require any irrigation or fertilization and whose rapid root growth helps control soil erosion. Hemp fibers can be used to make clothes and rope, the leaves to make paper and the seeds for oil—the straw is essentially a byproduct. In Europe, hemp is partly subsidized, and France has extensive plantings in the area around Toulouse, so the material was both cost-effective and close to the winery, reducing the carbon footprint.

To make the bricks, lime was added to the straw to harden it; the chemical transformation into a limestone carbonate captures and sequesters carbon dioxide over many years. The mixture was molded into bricks that are very light—only 33 pounds for a nearly two-foot thick brick—and easy to transport.

French regulatory authorities wouldn't permit them to build an entire facility out of a non-standard material—getting approval could have taken 10 or more years, Eden estimated—so workers laid the bricks, clamped together with rivets, but left holes through which they put a frame of untreated wood from certified sustainably managed forests. (Basically, almost the entire building is biodegradable, though Eden says the hemp bricks could last for a century or more.) Acknowledging that it was difficult to precisely measure, Eden said that they calculated that the plant-based building materials had consumed 44 kilos of CO2 per square meter, and that the carbonation process will continue to capture more over the next 20 to 25 years.

Eden is particularly curious to see what will happen with all the CO2 produced by fermentation. When the bricks carbonate, they change colors slightly and become very hard. "Today if you go up to the walls, it looks like cement, but you can touch the exposed parts and feel the brick is still soft," he said. "So we can measure how quickly the hardness increases."

Hemp is known as a good insulator, along with being a "breathable" material and having good acoustic properties. Maris does not have an air-conditioning system, but Eden expects the interior to remain about 54° to 63° F year-round. To provide an extra buffer against extreme temperatures, the building was constructed with two exterior walls, with an air tunnel between them, and a duct in the roof of the cellar to allow the winemaking team to increase airflow. "Fermentations produce a lot of heat, so if we find the walls aren't enough we can help," Eden explained. Extensive testing of this setup—by building smaller hemp-brick huts, both exposed to the weather and covered so that hot or cold air could be injected into the enclosure—found that outside temperatures could range from 21° to 93° F and the interior temperatures would stay fairly stable, with a total variation of no more than 18° F.

Château Maris is in the process of applying for the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification, hoping to earn Platinum, the highest level. Along with the novel hemp construction, Maris takes advantage of many other green building practices: The 15,000-case winery was built into the hillside, with a soil-topped roof planted with local vegetation that needs little water. To minimize water consumption, the winery collects rainwater and recycles its gray water by filtering it through a natural pond system. Low-consumption LEDs are used for all the lighting. Future plans call for a windmill and solar panels to provide all of the winery's power and the addition of a hemp-based visitor center and a garden.

From the estate vineyards, Eden produces a range of very good to outstanding red varietals and blends from Syrah, Grenache and Carignane, along with a white from Grenache Gris. The wines are made with native yeasts, in custom-made tanks—wood, wide concrete or egg-shaped concrete—to avoid the use of any electrically conductive materials (which biodynamics practitioners believe disrupt energy flow). The wines are left unfined and unfiltered, and packaged in lightweight, recycled glass bottles, with recycled paper labels. Three of the wines help fund charities, with donations of $1.50 from each bottle sold going to the Jane Goodall Institute, Rainforest Foundation or International Polar Foundation.

Reflecting back on the long path to the winery's completion, Eden noted that he could have opted for an existing product that was a mix of hemp and concrete, but didn't want to use it because of the cement's higher carbon footprint. "My fanaticism in wanting to respect the environment made me push to go the whole way. If something is going to be the first, you may as well pull it as far as you can. Hopefully you're making the mistakes for others to avoid."