Gohemp | Hempcrete Building Materials & Design-Build

Gohemp | Hempcrete Building Materials & Design-Build

Green Architects & Builders

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 – Climate Action, SDG 9 – Industry Innovation and Infrastructure

Company Overview

Gohemp Agroventures Private Limited is an Indian company working across architecture, material development and construction using hemp and other rapidly renewable natural materials. The practice describes its focus as regenerative building, where structures are designed to give back to their surroundings and to occupant health rather than only consume resources.

The company was incorporated in 2018 by architects Gaurav Dixit and Namrata Kandwal together with other co-founders. Its work began in Uttarakhand, where the founders spent several years studying hemp cultivation, processing and construction alongside local communities. That research led to building systems based on hemp hurd and lime binders. The team has also set up in-house processing of hemp to meet its own raw material needs.

An early milestone was a hempcrete model home in Pauri Garhwal, reported in the Indian press as the first modern house built with hemp fibre in the country. It later began operating as a homestay known as the Himalayan Hemp Ecostay. The company won the entrepreneur competition at the Asian Hemp Summit in 2020 and was recognised at the Global Housing Technology Challenge India.

Gohemp is a startup recognised by the Government of India, and its hempcrete blocks are listed in the GRIHA product catalogue. It works with architects, clients and farmers. It also runs workshops and training sessions for architects, engineers and builders who want to use natural building materials.

Why These SDGs Matter

SDG 9 applies because Gohemp develops and tests a plant-based walling and insulation system, and works to build a local hemp processing and supply chain. This adds a new material option to the construction sector.

SDG 11 is relevant through its housing and building projects in the Himalayan region. These include a model home intended as a blueprint for affordable housing, and the retrofit of a century-old stone room using prefabricated panels. Both projects aim to improve the quality and durability of existing and new buildings.

SDG 12 applies because hurd and fibre come from hemp stalks that local growers treated as waste. Using this residue lowers demand for virgin construction materials.

SDG 13 is supported by the company's carbon-storing hempcrete walls and insulating envelopes, which reduce the energy needed to keep buildings comfortable. The company positions this as a way to cut a building's lifetime emissions.

Products & Services
  • Hempcrete blocks and cast-in-place walling systems
  • Hempcrete premix, ready for site application
  • Prefabricated interlocking hempcrete wall panels
  • Hemp-lime and hemp-clay plaster finishes
  • Hemp wool insulation for thermal performance
  • Composite hemp acoustic panels
  • Graded hemp shives and fibre
  • Architecture, interiors and design-build services
  • Material sample kits and technical documentation
  • Workshops and training on natural building
Business Challenges Solved
  • High embodied carbon of conventional masonry and concrete walling
  • Poor thermal comfort and high heating or cooling demand in buildings
  • Sound transmission and acoustic discomfort in homes and hospitality spaces
  • Retrofitting heritage stone structures without heavy new envelopes
  • Underused hemp stalk residues from local growers
  • Limited availability of builders trained in natural materials
  • Disconnect between design intent and construction execution
  • Heavy walling in seismic hill regions, where lighter assemblies are preferred
Approach & Methodology

Gohemp starts from the hemp stalk. After harvest, the woody core is separated from the fibre by decortication. The company uses a decorticator developed by Namrata Hemp Company, a related entity that partners with Gohemp in a consortium developing the local hemp building supply chain. The resulting hurd is mixed with a mineral binder, mainly lime, to make hempcrete. The mix can be cast in place or prefabricated into blocks and interlocking panels.

The same raw material feeds the company's other systems. Hemp-lime and hemp-clay plasters are used as breathable finishes, hemp wool as insulation, and hemp composites as acoustic panels. Local materials such as stone, timber and lime sourced from Dehradun are combined with hempcrete in its building projects.

Performance is documented through independent laboratory testing of specific Gohemp samples. Thermal behaviour has been tested to ISO 22007-2 and acoustic behaviour to ASTM E2611. A compressive strength report is also part of the technical library. The company states that results apply only to the samples and conditions tested.

On the design side, architecture, interiors, material selection and execution are handled as one continuous process, so the original design intent carries through to construction. Designs start from climate, landscape and local knowledge. Hempcrete's lightness is cited as a fit for seismic zones. The company also provides training and workshops, which helps build the installer base that natural materials require.

Market Position

Gohemp operates in India's bio-based building materials segment and in regenerative design-build. Its customers include architects and architecture firms, private clients and hospitality operators. It has also worked on institutional spaces.

The Indian press has described the company's Pauri Garhwal home as the country's first modern hemp fibre house. Its blocks are listed in the GRIHA product catalogue, which gives specifiers a recognised reference point. The company's differentiation is that it links hemp processing, material development and construction delivery inside one practice, and pairs this with independent test reports for its samples.

Procurement Considerations
  • Confirm that the test reports match the exact mix, density and sample you plan to specify
  • Check the scope and validity period of the GRIHA catalogue listing against your project rating requirements
  • Confirm with the supplier how hempcrete walls integrate with your structural frame
  • Plan for curing, drying time and moisture protection during construction
  • Clarify supply capacity and lead times for hurd, blocks and prefabricated panels
  • Confirm installer training or site supervision availability for projects outside Uttarakhand
  • Compare lifecycle cost against conventional walling and insulation, including maintenance
  • Check acceptance of the material with local building authorities and project certifiers
Funding, Recognition & Ecosystem
  • Developed under the Technology Incubation and Entrepreneurship Development Society (TIDES), IIT Roorkee
  • Funded through the DST NIDHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence programme, with one patent and one trademark listed
  • BIRAC BIG grant, 2022 (company-reported)
  • Winner, Entrepreneur Rewards, Asian Hemp Summit, Kathmandu, 2020
  • Recognised at Global Housing Technology Challenge India (GHTC-India)
  • Prem Behl Excellence Award, 2024
  • Finalist, National Startup Awards (Startup India), 2023, and winner at Smart Cities India, 2024 (company-reported)
  • Award from the Governor of Uttarakhand, 2025 (company-reported)
  • Speaker at the International Hemp Building Symposium (2022) and the European Industrial Hemp Association conference, Berlin (2025)
  • Indian delegations at SLUSH Finland and Startup Bangladesh, 2023
  • Supporting organisations named by the company: IIM Bangalore NSRCEL, HDFC Bank Parivartan, The SoilBox, riidl and IIFL
Natnavi Analysis

Gohemp matters because it works on a practical question for the Indian construction sector: whether an agricultural residue can become a usable wall and insulation material. Cement and fired brick are carbon-intensive, and hempcrete offers a bio-based alternative that stores carbon and insulates. The company has documented this through built projects, laboratory reports and a listing in a national green building catalogue.

Its main strength is vertical integration. Gohemp processes hemp, develops materials, designs buildings and delivers them, which keeps design intent close to execution. Its public technical library and independent test reports on specific samples also help specifiers assess the material.

Buyers should keep a few points in view. Hempcrete is generally used as an infill and insulation layer, so it works alongside a structural frame rather than replacing one. The company's reported performance figures apply to the samples and conditions tested. Hemp building supply chains in India are still maturing, so scale and regional availability should be confirmed project by project. These are features of the segment and the company's stage, not findings against Gohemp.

Overall, Gohemp is a credible early participant in India's natural building materials market. Its contribution lies in demonstrating a locally sourced, lower-carbon wall system and in training the people needed to build with it.

Sources & References
Website
Founded: 2018
Company Stage: Startup
Headquarters
Faldakot, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India
Geographic Presence
Gohemp is based in Uttarakhand and works mainly in India. Projects are documented in Uttarakhand, Mohali near Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Kolkata and Meerut, often in partnership with local architecture firms. The company has also taken part in international forums, including events in Finland, Bangladesh, Australia and Germany, as a speaker or delegate.
Solution Type
Manufacturer, Research & Innovation, Service Provider
Sustainability Outcomes
Carbon Reduction, Energy Efficiency, Resource Efficiency, Sustainable Infrastructure, Waste Reduction
Industries Served
Construction & Real Estate, Hospitality & Tourism
Last Reviewed: October 9, 2026

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