{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Hemp as an Indicator Species: Mapping the Future of Bio-Based Building","description":"This week on the Hemp Show, we widen the lens. Hemp is more than a crop \u2014 it's part of a larger material system that connects farms, forests, manufacturers, builders and cities. Architect and urban researcher Kaja K\u00fchl joins the podcast to explain why she calls hemp and straw \u201cindicator species\u201d \u2014 materials that signal the health of a regional building ecosystem. Through her Bio-Based Materials & Construction Resources Map, she has been documenting the farms, processors and builders already working across the Northeast. In this conversation, we explore what it would take to scale regenerative construction from rural landscapes into dense urban markets \u2014 and why regional supply chains may matter more than centralized industrial models. We discuss: \u2022 Hempcrete as a carbon-storing wall system \u2022 Why moisture regulation and indoor air quality may be hemp\u2019s most overlooked strengths \u2022 Straw panel manufacturing and collaborative scaling models \u2022 The advantages \u2014 and challenges \u2014 of building in a dense Northeastern region \u2022 Housing as long-term carbon storage infrastructure K\u00fchl also reflects on building two carbon-zero hemp homes in New York\u2019s Hudson Valley and what she learned working alongside early-stage material startups. As federal climate policy shifts, atmospheric carbon does not. If emissions oversight weakens, land-based carbon strategies \u2014 including fiber crops like hemp \u2014 only grow more consequential. This episode situates hemp inside a broader conversation about how we build, where materials come from and how regional economies can store carbon in the walls around us. News Nuggets Farm Bill \/ Hemp Language U.S. House Agriculture Committee \u2013 Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 (Draft Bill Information) National Hemp Association \u2013 Industry Response & Policy Updates USDA Hemp Production Program EPA Endangerment Finding EPA 2009 Endangerment Finding (Clean Air Act) Clean Air Act Overview (EPA) Learn More You Are the City \u2013 Kaja K\u00fchl\u2019s Practice Bio-Based Materials & Construction Resources Map City College of New York \u2013 Architecture Columbia University GSAPP Bio-Based Materials Collective https:\/\/biobasedcollective.org Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP  ","author_name":"Industrial Hemp Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.lancasterfarming.com\/community\/podcasts_and_audio\/","html":"