Pollies support Margaret River hempcrete factory

The State Government has poured almost $400,000 into the mix for an innovative new building material based on hemp.

The support is a major win for local builder and former Margaret River Hemp Co owner Gary Rogers, who has championed hemp as a building material during the past decade.

While Mr Rogers put his money where his mouth was several years back, proceeding to work out how to make a hemp-based concrete-like material viable, a visit from Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan has made those dreams a reality.

The investment would help guarantee viability of the new, first-of-its-kind processing factory in the Margaret River light industrial area.

Ms MacTiernan said the funding under the WA Government’s support for agribusiness would help expand the processing to meet local demand and create more local jobs.

“Local processing is critical to drive the emerging hemp industry in the South-West,” she said.

“It makes hemp a more valuable cropping option.

“Margaret River builder Gary Rogers and Esperance farmer David Campbell have done a great job to have the vision and commitment to get this project off the ground.

“We invest in regional projects like this to support industry expansion and diversification of local economies.”

Mr Rogers said the factory processes a “hurd” taken from the core of the hemp plant which could then be made into hempcrete for masonry and walls, and uses as a hydro mulch and for horse and pet bedding.

Mr Rogers has already built WA’s first hemp house in Witchcliffe, and previously told the Times the award-winning building project attracted wide interest.

“The South West of WA is one of the best climates in the world to grow hemp,” he said.

“We’ve got a billion-dollar industry on our doorstep.”

Warren-Blackwood MLA Jane Kelsbie also visited the LIA on Friday.

“It is fantastic to see emerging industries such as hemp growing and processing starting up in our region,” she said.

“Local innovation is creating local jobs right here in the South West. It is exciting to see the potential for future expansion in this innovative new industry.”

The Margaret River region is rapidly establishing itself as a hemp hotspot for WA, with medical cannabis investment also on the rise.