The Hemp Lab combines craft and technological innovation to propose new design solutions for how we might build local goods that contribute to a high quality of life, work and economy.

The Hemp Lab was initiated by Professor Marianne Fairbanks to focus on ways to use this locally grown, carbon sequestering crop as a raw material that holds sustainable solutions for a better social, ecological, economic and cultural future. Using hemp grown by the Ellison Lab, we first transform the raw material into components – long line fibers, short fibers (tow), and hurd. We work to refine and combine these raw materials into new forms for both utilitarian and experimental outcomes. The short fibers get separated and beaten into pulp to be made into paper. The long fibers get spun and turned into thread and cord to become rope or textile. And the hurd, when mixed with mycelium, can be used for packaging, insulation, or used as sculptural material.  Hurd can also be blended with lime to become hempcrete, a building and sculptural material.  Through hands-on learning and processing of the material we will design, prototype and test new products. The Hemp Lab learns from processes used in the past to inform the future. Through making, we work to facilitate interactions based on participation and mutuality, growing knowledge and respect for the environment, sustainable materials, and design processes in order to create a regenerative future.