Sustainable Living

Natural Materials

Hemp, cork, earth and stone, materials that breathe, store carbon and age well. Portuguese pioneers like Cânhamor are making them available at building scale.

22 Projects

Projects in this focus

Natural building materials in Portugal

Hemp, cork, earth, lime, straw and stone share three properties that industrial alternatives struggle with: they let a wall move moisture rather than trap it, they hold carbon rather than emit it, and they age without failing. In a climate with hot summers and damp winters, the first of those matters more than it sounds.

Cânhamor makes hemp building materials in Portugal at a scale a contractor can actually order. Cork, which the country produces more of than anywhere else, is used here as insulation as well as flooring.

Supply is the recurring problem, much of this exists as small production runs. The hemp construction and eco-building techniques focuses list who is making and using what. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.