[Pil-pc-oceania] New direction for hemp

[Deb Guildner]

Yes this hemp business is a really good approach, but it has taken nearly forever to even get to this point.

Also on the topic of fibre crops, another industry which could use a boost is the (re) creation of viable sustainable timber industries throughout Australia.

A new initiative is happenning in North Coastt NSW/SE Qld, where they are now tailoring regional plantings to the creation of linked purpose built mills nearby for value added products.

But many more are needed...the hardwood industry is nearly dead in  Australia.

Clever indeed is the person who has the foresight to plan and plant trees on their property, which they can later harvest and use for specific purposes down the track.  But trying to find a well researched sustainable scheme on a larger scale is nigh well impossible.

Cheers

Deb
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Daniel Rossi 
  To: permacultue discussion list 
  Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 5:56 PM
  Subject: Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] New direction for hemp




  On 16/05/2008, at 5:44 PM, Deb Guildner wrote:


    New direction for hemp
    15/05/2008 2:25:00 PM
    Agriculture could take on a new direction, according to NSW Member for Barwon, Kevin Humphries, who this week pledging his support for the Hemp Industry Bill 2008.



  So more mills equals locally grown and produced fabrics then ? This  will probably spark more 'eco' fashion designers here I reckon. The only issue I can see here is, the fabric may be produced locally, but clothing companies will still ship and truck that off to china to be produced into clothes exploiting cheap labor and then ship and truck it back or whatever.


    Phil Warner, Ecofibre Executive Farming Director said that to overcome current transport conditions and compete in an international, heavily subsidised, market Australia needed to become more efficient in the way hemp is processed and handled.

    He said there were currently developing new harvesting and module building techniques based on those used in the cotton industry, allowing 60-80 percent of the crop to be processed in the field.




  Does that mean processing on site ? 


    Comments


    "With Ecofibre Industries, instigating hemp trails in the district" ... is this another side benefit, similar to winery trails, but with hippies? 

    Posted by Macgregor on 16/05/2008 9:30:46 AM

    The Darling River Action Group endorses the growing of hemp as a substitute for cotton, assuming that hemp requires much less water, and is in general more environmentally friendly.
    Posted by Barney on 16/05/2008 10:20:23 AM

    Its about time there was progress in this direction. I am lead to believe that hemp is 100% useable in various forms. The greatest problem lies in the opposition of the vested interests and lobby power of the companies that provide products that hemp will replace, they are in the pocket and have the ear of governments. 

    Posted by RW on 16/05/2008 10:23:23 AM


  I really like this comment. Obviously only coming about because cotton industry is dead and wanted to squeeze as much out of it as possible while silencing hemp and bamboo. 






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