Some of the Speakers who will be presenting at the 2nd International Hemp Building Symposium, Granada, Spain, 27-28th April 2011.

Steve Allin
Author of the book “Building with Hemp” (2006) Steve has enthusiastically pioneered the use of hemp in building in Ireland and internationally for the last 13 years. The use of hemp in construction was seen by Steve as the best way to expand the production of hemp and a way to increase the value of the hemp wood element of the crop.
He is currently acting as director of the (IHBA) International Hemp Building Association and advisor to students and Industrialists on the development of breathable binders suitable for use with hemp.

Pierre Amadieu

Pierre, originally an organic Hemp farmer became the driving force of the collaborative project between organic farmers and Hemp builders in S.W. France in 2001 He launched his own company Start Hemp in 2008 to develop the highest added value to each element of the crop, food from the seeds, hurds for building materials and high grade fibres for the textile and mechanical markets. Start Hemp have developed a mobile decorticator designed for the 21st century need for ecological and social "Tools for Transition"

Noel André

An early convert to the enormous potential of Hemp, Noel André formed La Chanvrière du Belon in the late 1980's and was the first to evolve a small scale bio-regional processing facility in Brittany, France. As director of Technichanvre he has been promoting the use of hempcrete and hemp plaster materials as well as the use of hemp fibre insulation panels and soundproof matting.

Tony Budden
Tony will be speaking on Industrial Hemp and its applications in Africa. Tony is a partner in Hemporium, South Africa's premiere hemp company. Hemporium aims to educate people about the industrial hemp plant and its multitude of uses by providing an array of products made from this versatile plant. He is also involved in environmental issue awareness, and hopes to play a part implementing in the changes necessary to correct the ecological balance of our planet.

Monika Brümmer
Monika studied Architecture at the University of Arts Berlin, with her thesis being ‘Building with Hemp’, this project was written on hemp paper and completed with models of hemp fibre board and other hemp materials. The tests she carried out during this work formed the basis for the load bearing hemp bricks made now by the company in Guadix, Spain she formed in 1999, Cannabric. These hemp bricks were developed, together with loam building experts in Spain, to the Spanish norm of UNE 41410 and are used in new build projects, restoration and rehabilitation jobs.
Since Monika discovered the versatile nature of hemp materials her enthusiasm has not waned. She also works as a consultant and organises courses and workshops on the subject.

Ruth Busbridge

Ruth completed an MSc in 2009 at CAT Graduate School of the Environment in Wales. For her thesis she conducted research into the thermal properties and environmental credentials of Hempcrete walls, comparing hemp-clay with hemp-lime, and will present her results here. She graduated originally in Astrophysics, and qualified last year as a Certified Passivhaus Designer. She has applied for planning permission to build her own low energy house which she expects to be building this summer.

Dr Mizi Fan
Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, Brunel University, West London, UK. Dr Fan has been working for ten years on breeding strains of hemp for high strengh reinforcement.

Greg Flavall

In 2008 Greg co-founded Hemp Technologies (USA) Inc. in Asheville, NC, to build healthy, energy saving homes with hempcrete. He built the first Hemp House in Asheville and has gone on to work on projects in Canada and new Zealand.

Laurent Goudet

Laurent Goudet "Développement Chanvre" (Brittany) was an early practitoner of hemp building in France and has led development of the hempcrete spraying technique. He has worked on a large number of projects in England, Ireland, France and Belgium, and is one of the worlds foremost hemp builders.

Christopher Gross

Christopher Gross is a PHD student at Bath University and has researched the reinforcing capabilities of Hempcrete in a Timber stud frame. He will be presenting his work.

Jorgen Hempel

Jorgen Hempel is the founder of "La Maison Du Nord" which operates in Switzerland advising clients on energy saving improvements to dwellings using natural materials especially those of hemp. He has recently teamed up with Pascal Favré (Arbio CH) one of Switzerlands premier hemp builders.

Yves Kühn

Yves Kühn creator of the Canosmose® technique, one of the pioneering craftsman of the use of hempcrete and hemp plaster in France since 1987.

Dr Mike Lawrence

Mike is a Research Fellow at the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath. His focus is on low-carbon renewable building materials. Recent projects include work on pre-fabricated straw bale construction and the development of mortars for use with unfired clay bricks. For the last three years Mike has been working on a DEFRA funded project aimed at developing hemp-lime construction for mainstream uptake.

Jim Mortlock

Jim Mortlock is an experienced concrete sprayer and was the first person from this field to recognize the possibilities of spraying hempcrete in the UK He has worked on many such projects in the UK including the accommodation block at CAT in Wales and the Wine Society warehouse in North London.

Manuel Román

Manuel Román is the director of Contactica a consultancy firm specializing in investing in intelligent solutions and the financing opportunities for such projects. They have made two reports regarding establishing Hemp industries in Spain.

Lawrence Serbin

Lawrence Serbin is the President and owner of Hemp Traders, a company specializing in all hemp products, since 1994 and is the largest supplier of hemp textiles in the US. He has been involved in the hemp industry since 1990 and was the former national director of the Business Alliance for Commerce in Hemp. Currently he has developed "hempboard", an all natural medium density fiberboard made from hemp hurd.