TreeHugger's Top 5 Zelfo Papier-Machesque Protos

Probably in your distant childhood you got your fingers all gooey making paper maché. But odds are you didn't conceive of crafting a musical instrument or furniture from the stuff. Not so these Austrian guys. They've taken that revered kindergarten pastime to new heights. Instead of chopping up old paper, they use...reeds, straw, flax, sugar-cane, sisal and jute - pretty much any high cellulose based agricultural crop. Due to the patented processing, no external binders are required. It's all natural. When it dries Zelfo has the curves of a delicate textile with the firmness of plastic or timber. In fact one version they do, with cannabis sativa, is called 'Hempstone'. These 5 pics show some of the amazing stuff they've fashioned from it so far. Research is ongoing but didgeridoos are now commercially available, in Europe and North America (don't you dare buy one!). ::Zelfo [by WM]

'Mada' acoustic guitar by Adam Wehsely Swiczinsky

Hempstone bowls

Speaker cabinets

Cool Heat elements by Sommerhuber Ceramics