Hurds — also called shivs or shives — are the short, woody pieces from the inner core of the hemp stalk, left over once the long outer bast fibres have been stripped away. They make up the bulk of the stem, roughly 65-70% of its dry mass, and behave less like a textile fibre than like a lightweight, porous plant aggregate, similar to wood chips.
That porosity is the point. Hurds are highly absorbent — often around twice as thirsty as wood shavings — which makes them excellent animal bedding, garden mulch and industrial absorbents.
Their best-known modern use is in construction. Mixed with a lime binder and water, hemp hurd becomes hempcrete: a lightweight, breathable, insulating and carbon-storing material used for walls and insulation. Hurds also go into particleboard and other bio-composites, and serve as a pulp stock for speciality papers.
Because hurd is a by-product of fibre processing, finding high-value outlets for it — construction above all — is central to making a hemp stalk pay for itself.
- National Hemp Growers Association — Plant Fibre Structure (bast vs hurd)
- ScienceDirect — Hemp Hurds (overview)
