Saturday, October 30, 2010

HEMP - ESSENTIAL CROP OF THE FUTURE ?

Making simple, lightweight, strong as concrete bricks has lots of potential - if as the French lady indicates - a steady, large supply of hemp (often banned for drug control reasons) were available. Even woven  jute or hemp shirts are a forbidden item in the USA.

An amusing side story comes from a region of Iran where growing "shah dooneh" (royal seeds) - the agricultural reason for growing hemp - spend all winter high as a kite.

In villages around Iran where heating a family home becomes prohibitivly expensive in winter, families dedicate a room for a "korsi". This consists of a thick, heavy, cotton filled comforter the size of the room, which rests on a table in the very middle.

Under that table they place a brazier to burn charcoal or other slow burning materials. With the table made high enough to raise the center and allow heat to travel under the comforter to the edge of the room, under which the family sits on cushions with their back leaning on the walls (and other cushions), this becomes the winter living room, dining room and also the communal bedroom.

Thus everyone remains comfortably warm with a single bazier throughout the day and night.

The twist here comes from their using cut down bits of the long hemp stems in the braziers and filling the room with more than carbon fumes. The hemp also exudes narcotic fumes keeping them extra happy all winter.

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