Hemp is ideal for insulation

FARMERS are being urged to consider growing hemp under licence for use as insulation material in buildings.

Henry O’D Thompson, owner of OldBuilders, a contracting company with specialist skills in lime mortar plastering and eco-friendly hemp applications, is behind the move.

Based in Birr, Co Offaly, the restoration and conservation company has just finished a hemp and timber frame extension to an old cottage restoration in the Ring Gaeltacht, near Dungarvan, Co Waterford.