8:45 a.m. Dacotah Expo Center. Tribal welcome.

Tribal welcome from Vanessa Goodthunder and the Red Tree Singers.

9:00 a.m. Welcome

Welcome by Steve Allin director of the International Hemp Building Association and Danny Desjarlais Hemp Construction Project Manager at the Lower Sioux Indian Community with a few words from Damien Baumer of Ereasy the symposium’s main sponsor.

Steve Allin is a pioneer in hemp construction and founder of the International Hemp Building Association. Since the 1990s, he has built with hemp and promoted its benefits worldwide. Author of Building with Hemp (2005), the first book on the subject, he has taught courses across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, introducing hemp building to many new regions and supporting businesses and projects globally. He recently launched Stems Logic Ltd, offering tailored solutions for producing and processing hemp materials for construction and high-value fibre markets.

Danny Desjarlais is the Industrial Hemp Construction Project Manager at the Lower Sioux Indian Community, a small reservation near Morton, Minnesota. As an enrolled member of the tribe, Danny has dedicated his efforts to rebuilding his community with healthier alternative building materials that will benefit future generations. He has successfully promoted the recent expansion of hemp building activities at the Lower Sioux Indian Community reservation and is recognised across the United States as a leading advocate for the use of hemp building materials and social housing.

Damien Baumer developed an interlocking block in 2009 to solve thermal bridging while allowing reinforced concrete to be cast within. With help from his father, wife Celine, and children, he built a mould, produced blocks at home, and filed a patent. In 2012, the Vicat group partnered with him, leading to the development of the Biosys® block system. In 2015, while renovating a farmhouse, Damien created a fast spray application system with a new binder, offering high insulation and quick drying. Now called EREASY®, it is used across Europe and the USA, with Damien continuing to refine the technology.

9:15 – 9:35 a.m.

Anndrea Hermann M.Sc, B.Gs, P.Ag

Director, HPS Food & Ingredients

Anndrea Hermann is recognised and revered as a dedicated hemp ambassador of the highest calibre, with over 23 years of experience advising the global hemp industry. She earned her Bachelor’s in Hemp Ecolonomics (2002) and her Master’s in Plant Science, specialising in Hemp Fibre Agronomy (2008). Anndrea is President Emeritus and the longest-standing board member of the Hemp Industries Association, and Vice President Emeritus of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance.

9:40 – 10:00 a.m.

Eric Earnest from IND Hemp will be speaking on agricultural management at a rapidly expanding Hemp Processing company.

Eric Earnest is a Montana-based executive with 20+ years of experience leading teams and scaling operations in agriculture, energy, and utilities. He’s helped grow startups, expand infrastructure, and boost manufacturing output—most recently as COO at IND Hemp. Eric’s known for building strong teams, improving systems, and driving results. He earned his MBA from the University of Denver and brings a practical, entrepreneurial approach to leadership and innovation.

10:05 – 10:25 a.m.

Antoine Moussié from La Chanvrière will speak on managing 700 farmers to supply their annual production.

Antoine Moussié is the CEO of La Chanvrière, a French agricultural cooperative and Europe’s largest hemp producer and processor, founded in 1973. It cultivates hemp for industrial uses and produces a wide range of hemp-based products, including Aubiose animal bedding and other products for animal care, garden mulch, building materials like insulation, paper, and textiles. The company also supplies hemp seeds and oil for human consumption and operates under the agricultural cooperative model, with approximately 700 farmer members growing hemp in France’s Champagne district.

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Coffee break and Panel discussion

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Panel discussion with speakers from the Agricultural Session, lead by Steve Allin IHBA director

11:00 – 11:40 a.m.

Keynote speech by Dr. Eshrar Latif, Associate Professor, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff, Wales. U.K.

Dr Eshrar Latif is an Associate Professor at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, UK. His PhD focused on the hygrothermal performance of hemp-based insulation materials. He has contributed to key research and consultancy projects including the HEMPSEC project on prefabricated hemp-lime panels, the Hemp-Lime Building Monitoring Project, and the Hemp-Wool Bio-Envelope Project. Dr Latif publishes widely on the performance of hemp-lime and other bio-based materials in construction. A Certified Passive House Designer and LEED Green Associate, he is co-author of Thermal Insulation Materials for Building Applications, advancing evidence-based approaches to low-impact, durable building solutions.

11:45 a.m – 12.05p.m:

Latest developments in European research Liam Donohoe, Technological University Dublin.

Liam Donohoe is a lecturer in Engineering at Technological University Dublin, where he earned a Master’s degree in Energy Management. As a PhD Fiosraigh Scholar at TU Dublin’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, he is researching the development of an international standard rating methodology for the dynamic energy performance of hempcrete. A specialist in building energy certification and no- and low-carbon product, standards and systems development, Donohoe founded Black Mountain Insulation Ltd., a global leader in natural insulation materials. He is a director at the International Hemp Building Association (IHBA) and at UK Hempcrete (UKH) where he is Chief Operations Officer.

12:10 – 12:30 p.m.

April Hatch RM, MSN, Cannabis Care Team.

April is a registered nurse with 20 years of experience, during which she has observed a troubling rise in diseases linked to environmental and food toxins, along with a steady decline in overall quality of life. She holds a Master’s in Public Health Nursing and is currently on the path to becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Rooted in a deep love for people, plants, and the planet, April brings over eight years of experience providing cannabis education to patients, retail staff, and students enrolled in Cannabis Pharmacology at Saint Louis University. With a passion for nature-based medicine and heart-centered advocacy, she works tirelessly to spread science among the healthcare and hemp communities.

12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Panel discussion

12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Panel discussion with speakers from the Scientific Session, lead by Liam Donohoe, Technological University Dublin, UK Hempcrete.

9:00 – 9:20 a.m.

Ian Svilokos of PIE architects

Ian Svilokos is a licensed architect, fabricator, and founder at the collaborative PIE – a research-based architecture, design and fabrication studio. While earning his Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Florida, and his Masters in Architecture from Yale University, Ian spent time building single-family homes across the northeast. Upon completion of his Masters, he relocated to Bali, Indonesia to develop and design hyper-regional resorts with Karma Royal Group traveling to multiple properties across the globe.

He has been based in Los Angeles for a decade now, where he has led award-winning, multi-family and institutional projects including Pittsburgh’s MuseumLab with KoningEizenberg Architecture, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi with Frank O. Gehry Partners.

9:25 – 9:45 a.m.

Pamela Bosch, Overcoming difficulties to Building with Hemp in the USA. Pam has retrofittied a mid-century built home to be a model of building with hempcrete and employed integrated design for efficiency and quality of life.

Pamela Bosch is the builder and resident of the Highland Hemp House.  “Identifying as a Grandmother, artist, dancer, dreamer . . . , I have had the privilege of having a great deal of agency in building this house. Contributing to my agency have been many collaborations and inquiries, much talking and sharing, and material security.  Now that I am enjoying this intentionally created space, my job is to tell the story and to inspire.”

9:50 – 10:10 a.m.

Steve Allin, Hemp Building Expert.

Steve Allin is a pioneer in hemp construction and the founder and Director of the International Hemp Building Association. He has been building with hemp and promoting its benefits around the world since the 1990s. Steve wrote Building with Hemp (2005), the first book on the subject. He has taught hemp building through hands-on courses in many countries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia—helping introduce this natural building method to new places often where the system had never been used before and has also initiated many businesses and projects around the world.

10:10 – 10:40 a.m. Coffee break and Panel discussion

10:10 – 10:40 a.m. Panel discussion with speakers from the Design Session, lead by Simona Fischer, AIA, CPHC, Director of Sustainable Practice, MSR Design.

Simona is a registered architect and director of sustainable practice with MSR Design, an integrated architecture and interior design firm. She develops processes to integrate sustainable design into architecture delivery, specializing in the intersection of natural building materials, designing with reclaimed materials, high-performance envelope assemblies, and energy performance. She teaches a net zero design studio at the University of Minnesota and co-chairs on the AIA Materials Pledge Working Group and Minnesota Carbon Leadership Forum. Simona was a recipient of the AIA National 2023 Young Architects Award.

10:45 – 11:05 a.m.

Presentation by Gabriel Gauthier of Artcan who have been the pioneer of hemp construction in North America since 2003.

Inspired by the urgent need for sustainable building, Gabriel Gauthier discovered hempcrete. This ancient yet revolutionary material transformed his vision for construction. In 1995, he began exploring hemp’s agro-economic potential, spending three years in France and Switzerland to master and modernize ancestral techniques. He founded Artcan with a mission to create authentic living spaces that reconnect modernity with nature. Artcan aims to improve well-being, relationships, and environmental footprint, one home at a time.

11:10 – 11:30 a.m.

Presentation by Micaela Machado of Old Pueblo Hemp Co a general contractor that specializes in Hemp-Lime Construction and the World of Natural Building.

While earning her Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture, Micaela developed a passion for preserving and honoring the culture and landscape in the Desert. 

As a designer, it became important to find solutions that can connect people to nature and have positive impacts on our well-being and on the environment. As a longtime Cannabis Advocate, Hemp became the natural solution for sustainable design and construction in Arizona where Micaela is a licensed General Contractor.

She is the owner of Old Pueblo Hemp Co, in Tucson, AZ which specializes in Hemp Block Construction. Old Pueblo Hemp Co has developed their own Hemp block press and have recently completed a 16,300 block order for The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning in Tucson, AZ. These blocks will insulate existing sleeping cabins from the exterior and give the kids a Non-Toxic, Comfortable, Beautiful Healing space all while learning about the Sonoran Desert and the Power of Hemp.

11:35 – 11:55 a.m.

Felix Drewes and Dr. Susanne Bartholomé, Nutzhanf-Netzwerk, Germany. – Regional Innovation: Processing Winter Hemp and Post-Coal Transition

Felix Drewes and Dr. Susanne Bartholomé will examine how decentralised, low-investment processing of Winter Hemp (Winterhanf) can empower farmers, strengthen rural economies, and establish short supply chains for sustainable building materials. They will also share insights into the ways hemp construction supports regional transformation in former coal regions such as Lusatia, Germany, providing climate-positive jobs, fostering local value creation, and offering new perspectives for structural change.

12:00 – 12:20 p.m.

Dr. Arta Yazdanseta, Doctor of Design, LEED, Associate AIA, Assistant Professor of Technology
School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Dr. Arta Yazdanseta is an Assistant Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture. Her research focuses on carbon-smart, bio-aggregate materials such as hemp-lime, with an emphasis on material circularity, low-carbon envelopes, and design for disassembly. She holds a Doctor of Design from Harvard GSD and brings over a decade of academic and professional experience. As co-PI on a DOE HeRS project, she collaborates with industry leaders to prototype scalable building systems. Her recent Brown Fellowship fieldwork across Europe documents aging hemp-lime structures and resident experience to inform construction industry stakeholders. 

12:25 – 1:00 p.m. Panel discussion

12:25 – 1:00 p.m. Panel discussion with speakers from the Projects Session, lead by Steve Allin IHBA director.

Special Guest

Dallas Goldtooth will MC the charity auction after the symposium dinner.

Dallas Goldtooth is a father, writer, actor, playwright, film producer, comedian, and organizer. He is Mdewakanton Dakota and Dine from the Lower Sioux Indian Community. He was a writer on the hit series FX’s Reservation Dogs and has performed on FX, NBC’s Peacock, Comedy Central and the BBC. He is the co-creator of Indigenous comedy group The 1491s, and worked as an international climate justice organizer against fossil fuels.

9:00 – 9:20 a.m.

In July of this year, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry voted to approve the adoption of ICC Commercial Building Code Appendices BL Hemp-Lime Construction and BJ Strawbale Construction with amendments. Janneke Schaap, Anna Koosmann and Simona Fischer collaborated with Danny Desjarlais and others around the United States and Canada to develop cold climate-specific amendment language and craft the presentation to the Technical Advisory Group (TAG).

The team will present the amended code language for use in hemp-lime projects in Minnesota.

9:25 – 9:45 a.m.

Laura Schramm, Masters student from Boku University Vienna, Austria.

Laura Schramm is a Master’s student in Green Building Engineering at BOKU University in Vienna and a Structural Design Technician, specialising in detailed execution planning for vertical extensions of historic residential buildings. She currently works as a design engineer at Obenauf in Vienna, Austria. Previously, she worked as a technical project support for Nafz Holzhaus in Germany.

9:50 – 10:10 a.m.

Guillaume Delannoy – FRD-CODEM, France.

Guillaume Delannoy is Study Manager at FRD-CODEM, a french technical center dedicated to the development of biobased materials. He joined FRD-CODEM in 2019 after his PhD on the ageing of hempcrete. For years FRD-CODEM is invested on hempcrete by the development hemp hurds specifications and characterization tools, or R&D programs (end-of-life scenario, recognition of hygrothermal properties, external insulation or earth-hemp production), but also study for the development of hemp production area and decortication process. Guillaume is also vice-president of Construire en Chanvre, in charge of scientific aspects.

10:15 – 10:35 a.m.

Daniel Daviller – Chaux Saint-Astier, France.

Daniel has worked in many companies connected with construction including Lhoist and Saint Gobain and for the last three years he has been with Saint Astier helping them to develop their marketing of new hempcrete binder Batichanvre+. He is a consultant working on a project to bring French Hemp construction practices to California with the Indigenous Habitat Initiative (IHI) .

10:35 – 11:00 a.m. Coffee break and Panel discussion

10:35 – 11:00 a.m. Panel discussion with speakers from the Materials Science Session, lead by Liam Donohoe, Technological University Dublin, UK Hempcrete.

11:00 -11:25

Presentation by Stephen Clarke of HeavenGrown, Mexico.

Stephen Clarke is a sustainable construction advocate with a background in renewable energy systems and he is a co-founder of Heavengrown in Mexico. His work focuses on practical applications of natural fibers like hemp, bamboo, sugarcane and coconut in building materials. He has contributed to several notable projects, including some of the first commercial buildings using these materials in North America. Currently, he’s exploring industrial uses of plant fibers for more sustainable material solutions.

11:30 – 11:50 p.m.

Alex Sparrow, UK Hempcrete.

Alex Sparrow is the founder and CEO of UK Hempcrete. He is recognised globally as one of the leading experts in the use of hempcrete and other bio-based construction products. He co-authored The Hempcrete Book: Designing and Building with Hemp-Lime (2014), which is widely acknowledged as the definitive guide to this remarkable building material.
Alex sits on the board of the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products in the UK, speaks internationally on hempcrete, and chairs the board at YorSpace (York’s Community Land Trust), as well as providing specialist bio-based architectural design, building performance modelling, and consultancy services with a global reach, to promote the use of hempcrete and bio-based construction materials.

11:50 – 12:10 p.m.

Presentation by Alexandros Tsamis, Ph.D. Associate Professor in Architecture, Associate Director, CASE Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology, Graduate Program Director, Built Ecologies. MS & PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY.

12:10 – 12:30 p.m.

Presentation by Greg Wilson founder of HempWood

HempWood founder and CEO Greg Wilson developed HempWood out of a desire to create a healthier material based on natural ingredients, driven by his experience in the bamboo flooring industry in China.

12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Panel discussion

12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Panel discussion with speakers from the New Materials Session, lead by Jean Lotus, Hemp Build Mag.

Jean Lotus is the publisher of www.hempbuildmag.com and the Hemp Building Directory 2025. She is executive director of the Colorado-based Natural Building Alliance. She also co-founded Texas-based Hemp Build School delivering online and IRL workforce development technical training for building with hemp.