Continuation of ‘long-fiber’ hemp trials in 4 countries

Continuation of ‘long fiber’ hemp trials in four countries thanks to the Interreg Hemp4Circularity

Thanks to the Interreg NWE Hemp4Circularity project, textile hemp trials have been successfully carried out in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany. These trials covered a total area of 3 hectares and involved two hemp varieties, USO and San27, under the coordination of the Wallonia and Flanders regions of Belgium, as well as the Netherlands and Germany. In France, the association Lin et Chanvre Bio has also played an active role in collecting a huge amount of data on existing hemp crops. All this information will be statically analysed over the coming months so that the results can be assessed.

Integrating hemp into the textile value chain

The Interreg project “Hemp4Circularity” (H4C) aims to implement hemp in the textile value chain in the Northwest Europe (NWE) region. The project, started in March 2023, covers a wide range of activities, including field trials and crop monitoring in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France. These first activities have made it possible to collect essential data on various parameters, including plant density after sowing and during harvest. The straws were parallelized in the same way as the flax, using the Sativa 200 machine, which was improved during Hyler’s mechanical workshop. The straw was then retted, turned and baled before being transported to the barns for safe storage awaiting the scutching stage. All data collected over the summer is now submitted to a statistical analyst.

A good harvest

Crops generally grew well and were able to be rooted and baled on time, despite some delays in the harvest phase. This delay was due to the extremely wet conditions during the summer, which led to a late straw harvest, mainly between mid-August and the end of August. The quality of the retted straw will be assessed during the next phases of the project, namely scutching, hulling and spinning.

Interested in the project?

The Hemp4Circularity project covers all stages of the hemp processing chain. Whether you are a grower, a dyer, a peeler, a spinner, a weaver, a knitter or a designer, if you are interested in the possibilities of textile hemp, we strongly encourage you to contact us. There will be a series of activities taking place over the coming months that may pique your interest. Among these activities, training courses for farmers and entrepreneurs will start this winter. A training course to become a textile hemp ambassador is planned for 2025. Workshops and conferences for students and brands are also organized on themes such as the art of weaving. The project will work on the different stages of hemp processing.

Are you a grower, a scutcher, a hackler, a spinner, a weaver, a knitter or a designer, and you are interested in hemp for textiles, please contact the project: there will be activities that may interest you in the next months. Here are a few examples of the planned activities: We are organizing training sessions for farmers and contractors this winter. A training course to become an ambassador of hemp textiles will take place in 2025. Workshops and lectures for students and brands are organized around themes such as weaving.
Contact us by sending an email to communication@valbiom.be.