Who would have thought that,aside from being a material for making clothes, paper, food and skincare products, the most useful plant in the world could alsobe thebase material for constructing homes.The non-profit organization Nauhaus Institutein North Carolina, US, has built an experimental 375 square metre house using ‘hempcrete’. This is a mixture of hemp with lime and water which ispoured into the exterior supports of the building. It creates solid yet breathable walls with incredible insulation that is capable of maintaining a steady internal temperature. In addition it has the added benefit of absorbing both CO2 and impurities from the air.