“Homegrown Solutions – Building a Regenerative Materials Economy in the Age of Imports” Cheryl Corsiglia, Frank Wetenkamp and Gregory Wilson – AIA CEU
In a world dominated by cheap, toxic, and globally shipped construction products, this panel brings together natural building innovators who are taking on the construction materials industry with locally sourced, non-toxic, and low-impact materials.
Cheryl and Frank, co-founders of Arvada, CO-based Living Craft natural building company, share their mission to create a truly sustainable supply chain rooted in regional resources. They use and promote materials that are local, non-toxic, and low-impact.
Greg Wilson, founder of HempWood, brings a global-to-local story: after launching a bamboo flooring venture in China, he experienced firsthand the health toll of factory formaldehyde. His return to Murray, KY sparked a new chapter—developing high-performance wood alternatives using locally grown hemp and soy-based resins. Now used in homes and institutional buildings, HempWood represents a regenerative and economically viable path forward.
AIA – CEU
This panel brings together innovators in natural building to explore how locally sourced, non-toxic, and low-impact materials—such as HempWood, straw, and earthen products—can improve building performance, occupant health, and environmental sustainability.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
None Required
HSW Justification:
This course addresses Health, Safety, and Welfare by examining how alternative, bio-based, and regionally sourced construction materials can improve occupant health, worker safety, and environmental resilience. Participants will learn how materials like HempWood, straw, and earthen products reduce exposure to toxins, improve indoor air quality, and lower fire and structural risks. The session also highlights the benefits of local supply chains and regenerative building practices, which minimize environmental hazards and support long-term community welfare. By understanding the performance, durability, and safe application of these materials, architects can design healthier, safer, and more sustainable buildings.
Learning Objective 1:
Identify the health impacts of conventional construction materials and evaluate how locally sourced, non-toxic alternatives improve indoor air quality, occupant well-being, and worker safety.
Learning Objective 2:
Analyze the environmental and safety benefits of regional supply chains by exploring how hemp, straw, and earthen products reduce embodied carbon, transportation risks, and ecological degradation.
Learning Objective 3:
Examine the performance, durability, and fire-safety characteristics of bio-based building materials such as HempWood, straw bale, and natural plasters in comparison to conventional options.
Learning Objective 4:
Explore pathways for integrating natural and low-impact materials into modern construction practices while meeting building science standards, code requirements, and long-term occupant health and safety needs.
Cheryl Corsiglia of Arvada, CO-based Living Craft, got into the construction industry through an internship with Community Rebuilds, building affordable straw bale homes in Moab. An Earthen Building course in Nicaragua led to connections in the natural building community in CO. Being a tradesperson runs in the family: her grandfather designed and built houses in Florida. She is on the board of the Natural Building Alliance and the Colorado Green Building Guild. Cheryl is a Certified Passive House Tradesperson (CPHT) since 2024.
Frank Wetenkamp started working as a carpenter while in high school. His passion for building led to a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Architectural studies. A Natural Building course at Yestermorrow Design Build School set him up for a move back to residential construction where he strives to find the right balance between modern techniques, building science, and natural materials. Frank is a Certified Passive House Tradesperson (CPHT) since 2024.
Gregory Wilson of Murray KY-based HempWood, LLC, is an avid outdoorsman and building materials engineer. He started working in the family construction business 25 years ago. He attended the first STEM high school in the state of Maryland was was in the first class of the Academy of Manufacturing. He went on to study engineering and Chinese in undergrad at which time we completed internships in vinyl siding and bamboo flooring in China. He went on to file patents on strand woven bamboo and helped build that industry in China for over a decade. During this time, he earned his MBA and invented a follow-on product strand woven eucalyptus which also became a commercial success. In striking out on his own he teamed up with the same core group of engineers to invent and commercialize an upcycled wood product named SmartOak. When hemp became legal he concentrated his efforts on HempWood and now has 2 factories operating in Murray, KY producing HempWood flooring. Greg has worked on setting up 63 wood/bamboo/hemp processing lines around the world and holds 13 patents and 9 trademarks in the USA, EU, Canada, Australia, and China.
Speakers
Frank WetenkampFrank started working as a carpenter in the late 1990s, while in high school. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Architectural studies. Later, he worked as a field engineer for a bridge and road construction company. A Natural Building Intensive course at Yestermorrow Design Build School in Vermont set him up for a move to Colorado and an apprenticeship under Ryan Chivers of Artesano Plasters. Frank is now a guest instructor with Tiny Hemp Houses, Yestermorrow, and Community Rebuilds.
Cheryl CorsigliaComing from a lineage of builders, with a grandfather who started his own home building company in Florida, Cheryl had an early education in carpentry and tool use from her father. After a degree in Environmental Science sparked her passion for finding the best way to make the world healthier and to live more sustainably, she headed to Moab to work on an organic vegetable farm. While there, she discovered natural building, and got started in the construction industry, interning with Community Rebuilds and building her first straw bale home for a low income family in 2010. She followed this up with a six week Adobe and Earthen Building course in Nicaragua in 2014. Returning to Colorado, she worked briefly for Artesano plaster, plastering a straw bale home and meeting her business partners with whom she would eventually found Living Craft Design Build. Living Craft aims to meet the needs of urban homeowners and businesses in the Front Range of Colorado, providing low carbon and natural solutions while incorporating advances from modern building science. Cheryl joined the board of the Colorado Straw Bale Association, now the Natural Building Alliance, in 2016.
Gregory WilsonGregory Wilson of Murray KY-based HempWood, LLC, is an avid outdoorsman and building materials engineer. He started working in the family construction business 25 years ago. He attended the first STEM high school in the state of Maryland was was in the first class of the Academy of Manufacturing. He went on to study engineering and Chinese in undergrad at which time we completed internships in vinyl siding and bamboo flooring in China. He went on to file patents on strand woven bamboo and helped build that industry in China for over a decade. During this time, he earned his MBA and invented a follow-on product strand woven eucalyptus which also became a commercial success. In striking out on his own he teamed up with the same core group of engineers to invent and commercialize an upcycled wood product named SmartOak. When hemp became legal he concentrated his efforts on HempWood and now has 2 factories operating in Murray, KY producing HempWood flooring. Greg has worked on setting up 63 wood/bamboo/hemp processing lines around the world and holds 13 patents and 9 trademarks in the USA, EU, Canada, Australia, and China.
