• Home
  • Articles
    • Front Page
    • General Interest
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Snippets
  • Competitions
  • Our Community
    • Our People
    • Question of the Week
    • Be Seen
    • Jobs in The Central West
  • Features
    • Rural Round Up
    • Loving Local Living
    • Wellness Wise
    • My Place
    • Real Estate
    • Recipe of the Week
  • Sports
    • Canowindra Bowls Club
    • Canowindra Junior Rugby League
    • Canowindra Senior Rugby League
    • Cricket
    • Footy Tipping Competition
    • Golf
    • Rugby Union
    • Swimming Club
    • Touch Football Results
    • Tennis
    • Other
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Page
    • Advertise with Us
    • Testimonials
    • Subscribe to the Phoenix
    • Submit an Article
    • Previous Print Editions

The Canowindra Phoenix

Your free weekly guide to what's happening in and around Canowindra.

You are here: Home / Articles / Front Page / A Home Making A Difference

A Home Making A Difference

10 May, 2017 By editor


For many a home is a haven, a place to call your own, a place to feel comfortable and at ease in. This is what the project ‘Realising for the Read Triplets’ is all about; creating a space perfect for three children, Anwen, Mahalah and Gideon.

Many locals would know the inspiring story of the 10 year old Read Triplets who were born with Merosin Deficient Muscular Dystrophy and are wheelchair bound. The community of Canowindra has once again rallied behind the children, helping the family build a unique and purpose-built home for the triplets long term special needs.

Work is well and truly underway at the Reads place on the outskirts of Canowindra, with the unusual ‘Hempcrete’ walls currently being built. Theirs will be only the second ‘Hemp home’ in the Central West, built by Belubula Hemp Homes, and designed by Envirotecture, in Sydney.

Jemimah and Ben decided to use Industrial Hemp as a building material as it is naturally fire resistant, pest resistant, breathable, highly insulated, environmentally friendly, and a low maintenance wall product.

“Building with Hempcrete allows the air quality and warmth in our home to be excellent, with our children only having about 40% lung capacity, this will be really good,” said Jemimah

Extensive thought has gone into every element of the house design to make it as accessible and empowering as possible for the Read triplets with their limited physical abilities.

“We really wanted to create a home that is a haven for our children; it is designed so they can live as independently as possible.”

In particular the house is built to accommodate the kids in their three large powered wheelchairs, with the hallway being wide enough to fit all three wheelchairs side by side to allow the children to pass each other with ease.

“Our small household at the moment can be a bit hectic, directing the traffic flow, especially as they get a bit older,” Jemimah laughed.

With an exciting future ahead for the Read family the big question is when will it be finished?

“That’s the million-dollar question. We would love to be in by the end of the year for Christmas, ideally by the kids birthday in November! It’s actually possible with all the amazing help we’ve received from the community; we’re very grateful.” said Jemimah.

Building the Hempcrete walls is based almost entirely on volunteer labour. This means the family will be able to move in sooner and with significantly reduced labour costs. Jemimah said that the family is overwhelmed with the response from the community.

“I am continually amazed by the kindness and willingness of so many people. Thank you so much to everyone involved so far!”

Volunteers are still needed to help complete the Hempcrete walls over the coming weeks. If you are interested in making a difference contact Mark Ward on 0427 194 600. “We would really love any help!”

Filed Under: Front Page

More News

Vintage Header Still Good To Go

25 February, 2021 By editor

It has been 62 years since it was made, yet Sam Gavin’s 1959 John Deere Model 42 header has still … [Read More...]

Orange Set For Vaccine Roll Out

25 February, 2021 By editor

Just on a year to the day since the first diagnosed case of COVID-19 in Australia, the … [Read More...]

Gee Calls on Facebook To Unblock News

25 February, 2021 By editor

Andrew Gee has called on Facebook to immediately reverse its decision to block Australian news … [Read More...]

More articles in this section

  • Canowindra’s Crooning MD
  • Facebook Media Blackout Impacts Your News
  • Canowindra High School – Where We Have Been And Where We Are Going

More Food & Wine

ANZAC Treat

23 April, 2020 By editor

Caramel ANZAC Slice SLICE • 2 Cups Plain Flour • 2 Cups Brown Sugar • 2 Cups Rolled Oats • 1 … [Read More...]

Enjoy a Cold Christmas Pudding!

16 December, 2015 By editor

Ingredients 2.25 litre vanilla ice cream 2 x 125 punnets of pistachio kernels 1 teaspoon … [Read More...]

The Bite…Coffee Culture

8 July, 2015 By editor

It is a fair generalisation that Australians are culturally obsessed with their coffee. Across the … [Read More...]

More articles in this section

  • The Bite…Winter Warmers
  • In The Vines…Philip Shaw’s New Cellar Door
  • The Bite…Orange Cafe Culture

More Sport

Rugby Union

25 February, 2021 By editor

Canowindra Pythons 2021 rugby union season starts in April!

Latest Print Edition

Click here to download the recent issue (622) of The Canowindra Phoenix (1.9mb PDF) 25th February 2021

AWARDED 2018 BEST BUSINESS IN CABONNE

Stay Connected

The Canowindra Phoenix would like to thank you, our Facebook friends, for your continued support and readership!

likeusonfacebook

Canowindra Booklet

Click here to download the 2018 Canowindra Booklet – Explore “The Place You Call Home” Like a Local

Central West Rural Round Up Booklet

Click here to download the Central West Rural Round Up Booklet

Search the Phoenix

Recent Articles

  • $25,000 Mullet 25 February, 2021
  • Vintage Header Still Good To Go 25 February, 2021
  • Orange Set For Vaccine Roll Out 25 February, 2021

Contact the Phoenix

Street Address: 84 Gaskill Street Canowindra NSW 2804 Postal Address: PO Box 203 Canowindra NSW 2804 Phone: (02) 6344 1846 Email: editor@canowindraphoenix.com.au or sales@canowindraphoenix.com.au View our Privacy Policy. View our Conflict Resolution Process. View our Ethics and Complaints Policy. Want to advertise with us? Information on our Community Promotions.

Submit an Article

We are always looking for new articles of interest to the local community.

Please feel free to submit an article for possible inclusion in a future issue.

To submit an article, click here to use our online article submission form.

Receive The Phoenix via Email

* indicates required

Copyright © 2021 · Website setup and support: CompleteWPCare