Some people move to Byron Bay, buy a linen shirt, and call it a lifestyle.
Zac Efron? He bought 128 hectares of rainforest and hired Australia’s godfather of zero-waste living to build him a hemp fortress in the hills.
It’s called Futurecave. Part sanctuary, part science experiment, part “what if your home could actually heal the planet instead of roasting it.”
And honestly… same.
So what is Futurecave, exactly?
Think less celebrity mansion, more eco-lab with a roof that grows things. Built on a secluded block in the Tweed Valley, the home will be:
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Off-grid and zero-waste
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Wrapped in rooftop gardens + living soil
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Made with hemp bricks and natural materials (including oyster shells, because why not)
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Literally designed to bring endangered insects back
Yes, his house has a biodiversity plan.
Your herb garden is cute though.
This is the work of Joost Bakker; florist-turned-eco-architect, regenerative design renegade, and the guy behind the Future Food System (aka the house that feeds itself). Zac saw it, fell in love, and basically said:
“Cool. Make me the healthiest home on the planet. And don’t cut down a single tree.”
So now they’re building a living, breathing structure that acts more like a forest companion than real estate.
The Land: Byron-Adjacent Bush Fantasy
Picture it: cliffs, valleys, waterfalls, spring-fed dams and 128 hectares of rainforest hugging the NSW/QLD border. The kind of place where nature doesn’t whisper, it flexes.
Zac bought the land back in 2020 during his “accidentally moved to Australia” era, filming Down To Earth, dating a Byron barista, and discovering that this country makes you want to wear linen and discuss soil health.
Joost Is Building More Than a House
This project isn’t about celebrity bragging rights — it’s a material experiment on a massive scale.
“@zacefron is pushing me and my team to create something truly special. Last year Zac came and met the farmers in Hillston NSW that grew the hemp we will be using for all the joinery, walls, furniture and even curtains + rugs. In all this building will use over 80 tonnes of Australian-grown hemp and straw.”
— Joost Bakker / @joostbakker via Instagram
Hemp Is The New Marble
Concrete? Out.
Hemp? In. Everywhere.
Walls. Insulation. Rugs. Curtains. Even the mattress. Hemp is carbon-negative, breathable, mould-resistant, and regenerates soil like a boss.
But here’s the bit most people miss... hempcrete isn’t raw hemp shoved into a wall.
It’s the woody core of the hemp plant (called hemp hurd) mixed with a lime-based binder and water. When it dries, the lime mineralises the hemp, slowly turning the wall into a kind of lightweight stone. The result?
• It doesn’t rot — lime is highly alkaline, so mould, fungus and pests tap out early
• It breathes — moisture can move through the wall instead of getting trapped
• It gets stronger over time — literally still curing decades later
• It’s fire-resistant — because stone doesn’t burn
So instead of a damp plasterboard sandwich (aka mould’s favourite Airbnb), you get walls that self-regulate humidity and age like Roman architecture.
Add in oyster-shell-bonded hemp bricks using leftover shells as a natural lime source and you’ve got a structure that:
• stores more carbon than it emits
• doesn’t poison the environment
• feels like a Scandinavian spa met an eco-commune
Joost says hemp has over 25,000 uses and when you realise it can build homes, clean soil, and literally lock away carbon while looking this good, it’s hard to argue.
Image credit: Joost Bakker / @joostbakker via Instagram
Close-up of oyster shells and hemp fiber blocks used in eco-friendly hempcrete construction for Zac Efron’s sustainable home, developed by Joost Bakker.
The Roof Alone Deserves Its Own Netflix Deal
There will be 100 tonnes of soil sitting on top of this thing. Not for storage.
For life.
Plants. Pollinators. Micro-ecosystems.
A literal habitat.
Your landlord could never.
“Wait, this is still a celebrity home… right?”
Sure. But it’s also a prototype. A proof-of-concept that regenerative homes aren’t just for permaculture blogs and commune guys named River.
If it works, Futurecave becomes a blueprint for building:
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low-carbon housing
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healthier indoor environments
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structures that give more than they take
And if you’re keeping score, yes, this might be the most likable thing a Hollywood star has ever done.
A render of Zac Efron’s approved hempcrete eco-home, designed to function as a self-sustaining, low-impact retreat in the Northern Rivers.
Why We Love This (And Why It Matters)
Because sustainability shouldn’t feel like punishment.
Or ugly.
Or beige.
It should look like architecture with a conscience and a six-pack.
Zac isn’t just escaping LA. He’s building inside the ecosystem, not on top of it.
And that’s the future... homes that regenerate land, feed biodiversity, and still look like something out of Architectural Digest: Bush Edition.
Watch This Space
We’ll be tracking Futurecave like it’s a rare bird sighting. Expect deep dives on:
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hemp homes
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regenerative building
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eco-architecture projects across Australia
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the rise of celebrity off-grid living
Because the planet is tired and it turns out the answer might be growing your house instead of just living in it.
Welcome to Sustainable Home Living, where good design goes green, and green stops being a marketing word and starts being your roof.
Why Hemp Could Reshape Australias Economy
This is not just about building Zac a planet loving bunker in the hills. Hemp has the potential to flip entire industries very quickly.
In Australia there are more than 30,000 mostly family owned cereal crop farms across more than 20 million hectares. Rotate hemp through those paddocks and suddenly you are replacing imported materials for housing, clothing, cardboard, paper and even toilet paper.
Zoom in on one industry. Joinery.
Victoria alone has more than 10,000 cabinet makers supplying almost half of Australias flat pack market and more than half of our finished kitchens. That is an industry that could literally run on raw materials grown by Australian farmers while also rejuvenating soil instead of stripping it.
And timber. Global shortages are sending prices through the roof.
Hemp can be formed into structural beams and studs tough enough to rival hardwood.
Then there is fibre.
Each hemp plant produces both a material similar to wood chips and an incredibly strong fibre. It is the same fibre Zac is holding in that photo with farmer Paul Rennie in Hillston NSW. That fibre can become textiles, packaging, insulation, boards and a long list of other products.
If there are truly more than 25,000 uses for hemp, even a handful of them could create tens of thousands of Australian jobs using equipment we already have.
This is not a future fantasy.
This is a transition that can happen now.
Image credit: Joost Bakker / @joostbakker via Instagram - Zac Efron standing with hemp farmer Paul Rennie in Hillston NSW, holding freshly processed hemp fibre that will be used to build his sustainable hemp home.
FAQs - Because The Curiosity Is Real
Is Zac Efron really building a hemp house?
Yes, a fully regenerative, hemp-based eco-home designed with Joost Bakker in Northern NSW.
Why use hemp?
Hemp absorbs carbon, is low-tox, and creates breathable, stable building material, kinder to the planet and the people living inside it.
Where is the house located?
In the Tweed Valley hinterland, about an hour inland from Byron Bay.
When will it be finished?
Construction is expected to run from February–September 2026.
Is it off-grid?
The goal is self-sustaining, zero-waste, low-tox living without the doom-prep aesthetic.
Can people visit it?
No, it’s a private residence. But the design principles are meant to inspire future builds.
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