Before Covid-19, Eric was working as an event coordinator assembling large and small scale gatherings. After the lockdown, that career came to a screeching halt having lost his job. He had two options: either wait out the pandemic and hope events return or pursue a new career entirely. He chose the latter.
“The construction industry hasn't changed since 1970. We are inventing cheaper and more toxic materials to replace natural ones. It's time to get back to our roots and build healthy and sustainable homes."
In July, 2020, he began working as a carpenter and framer for a Denver-based pre-fabrication home building company. In three short months, he learned quickly the skills necessary to frame a home. However, he noticed that the construction industry was non-innovative and wasteful. Nearly 20% of materials sent to the job site to be built end up in the landfill. That's a lot of waste considering all homes being built across the US. Additionally, with what materials were being used, the quality was quite poor and the toxicity was unacceptable. The final straw was the treatment of workers. It wasn't surprising that the wasteful practices applied to employees as they were expected to sacrifice their time and families to work 50+ hours a week, often uncompensated.
These revelations inspired him to start Healthy Hemp Homes. With the new purpose to build a company that benefits people, the planet, and it's employees - a win, win, win. So as he looks ahead, he expects to have quite an uphill battle, mainly from educating people on hemp as it remains mostly misunderstood.
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