Jason keeps sending me great suggestions for our blog. Today’s post is about the winning home design in the NASBA contest. This super energy efficient strawbale house is fast and easy to construct because it uses pole construction.
straw bale house
My Off-the-Grid Building Odyssey
“In the wake of both personal and national tragedy, I decided it was time to follow Thoreau’s dictum and simplify. Clearly, my life of quiet desperation had to change. As I sifted through the complexities of my daily routine, I noticed a recurring problem—my struggles to house myself.
Turning Round Straw Bales into Rectangular Building Bales
Cliff, one of our long time readers, sent me the photo above and the following email.
“Just a heads up on something I see coming in the future in the straw bale world. Small round bales. Lots of reasons. There are a lot of lifestyle or small farmers who can’t afford or need the big expensive bales. These smaller balers are much cheaper to buy and operate. The bales are much more weather resistant than square bales. Here in NZ they can fit down a row of vines in a vineyard. Any other baler can’t go there. I think we may see some innovation in the straw bale building world. You use what is available and as these become more available people will adapt to using them.”
Milkwood Natural Building Reciprocal Roof
Milkwood.net: “We’re dedicated to awesome homesteading skills for city & country – keeping life simple, organic and deliciously real.
Steve’s New Straw Bale House in Scotland
Yesterday’s blog post was about Steve’s unpermitted straw bale house in Scotland. This is the new straw bale house he is building that includes an amazing (first ever?) double reciprocal roof.