We often hear from people all over the world that are looking at straw bale construction as a solution for creating healthy, affordable, safe and beautiful housing.  For many of the people we hear from, this type of housing is not an easy option so we love the sense of excitement people feel once they realize that really CAN build their own cost effective and beautiful home.  Over the years, we have donated hundreds of DVDs to individuals, organizations, charities, and schools around the world to help empower people to create their own housing.  We believe that everyone deserves good, sound housing to raise their families in.   (more…)

We recently came into contact with the wonderful, dynamic and hilarious Sabine.  Born and raised in Germany, she and her husband both live in Australia now.  We were so taken by her enthusiasm and story that we asked if she would be willing to share her experience with building her dream straw bale house by writing diary entries for us to share with you.  We see her as an inspiration and example of one taking the plunge to live out a huge dream.  As she says, “I think if I can do it, an almost 50 year old woman with no building experience, everyone can”.  We hope you enjoy her first entry…we sure did!

Hi, my name is Sabine. I want to tell you about the straw bale house we want to build. We (my husband Tim, I and our two cats) live in Tamworth, NSW, Australia. We were both born in Germany, (my husband and me, the cats are Australians!), lived 6 1/2 years in New Zealand before we 2 1/2 years ago moved to Tamworth. I’m a trained piano teacher and a little bit of a concert pianist, Tim is a doctor. Next year is my 50th birthday and also, we will build our straw bale home. In fact, we wanted to start this year, but the wheat  caught rain to the wrong time, there was not one dry piece of straw to be found in the whole district. Poor farmers! For us it turned out to be a blessing in disguise- we now have time to plan things more thoroughly  At the moment it is planned that Tim will take time off for the wall raising but will otherwise work . He will do what he can, but his focus needs to be on his patients. I will do as much as I can on the building site. There will be Mark, our friend and builder, and I look very much forward to be the builder’s apprentice. (more…)

We love what we do.  We love that we get to inspire the inner builder in people and we love that we get to be a part of helping people create their dream straw bale homes.  Being a part of the workshop builds is a very bonding and touching experience…after all, a home is often one’s most personal and sacred space.  So when we come together as a group to help build someone’s dream house, it’s a pretty powerful experience.

We received a slideshow from the hosts of the Lameroo, Australia 2011 workshop of their now completed home and I have to admit that my heart welled with joy and pride that in a way we helped create a wonderful home for this beautiful family.

1.  Please introduce yourself:  :)

I’m Paul Younger, an architect and associate with Hewitt Studios LLP in the UK. Our practice focuses on high-quality, non-traditional sustainable design – just because its green, doesn’t mean it has to be twee or old-fashioned!

Our practice approached by Herefordshire College of Technology to extend and refurbish the refectory facilities on their Holme Lacy agricultural campus to create a 100 seat student cafe.  In visiting the site and talking to the users, two things struck us: The first was the abundance of natural resources that the campus possessed (it is effectively a training farm, set in acres of fields and woodland), the second was the enthusiasm of the College staff and students to get involved.  It was agreed that, rather than just build an ‘extension’, the new project should be a social ‘hub’ at the heart of the campus. The College would be involved in the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of the building, using as many of their on-site ‘riches’ as possible.
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This article by Susie Steiner from the Guardian touched my heart in a big way. As many of you know, for some time now I have been looking at my life from a deeper, more significant, and more honest point of view than I had in my early years. I’ve discovered a lot on that continued journey and this article really touches on “what’s important” in life and what really matters in the end. And yes, there is always an end. This has nothing to do with straw bale construction, but it does have everything to do with living an inspired and full life. I have included the entire article below and have also provided a link here for those who would prefer to read it on the Guardian’s website. I hope you enjoy the read. I would change the last question a bit myself. My final thought is below the article.

Top five regrets of the dying, by Susie Steiner

A nurse has recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and among the top ones is ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’. What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life?

There was no mention of more sex or bungee jumps. A palliative nurse who has counselled the dying in their last days has revealed the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives. And among the top, from men in particular, is ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’.

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

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I was sent a link to a great video today that I want to share with you all. To me, this is a perfect example of simplicity. Why over think the problem? Address the issue with simple solutions and you will likely find success. In this case, the issue was a lack of light in homes in the Philippines. Because the homes in the neighborhoods involved in this story are made of tin and are not outfitted with windows, even the brightest days of the week don’t affords the inhabitants much, if any, light indoors. With the cost of electricity too high, many are left to live in the dark day in and day out. I hope you enjoy this inspiring video on how plastic soda bottles became the simple solution to brightening the homes, and lives, of these people. There are other equally inspiring videos out there that speak to this same solution. In one of them, it is said that the bottles actually provide light equal to 55 watt bulbs! That’s amazing. You can see the happiness in the faces of the people who have received these “lights.” It’s amazing what a simple solution can do to change someone’s world.

If you have ever wondered what the oldest straw bale structure in Europe is, you can stop wondering. It’s this home, built in 1921 in Montargis, France. No, it’s not a ChiaPet either, those vines are growing on the surface of the plaster and there are no signs of any degradation of the plaster as a result. That’s pretty amazing to me as I know how strong vines can be and how often then destroy plaster finishes or push their way through window jambs and roof eaves. This is truly a clear indication of the strength of the plaster on this structure. This house is 91 years young and still going strong! It does, however, need our help.

The house has been for sale for over a year now and a group of straw bale enthusiasts, the RFCP or French Straw Bale Building Network, are looking to purchase the property and preserve it for the future. They hope to show it off as a model for healthy, innovative, and efficient construction to those who would listen (many as we are all learning). Even though it was built in 1921, it used the same techniques for construction that are currently approved in the straw bale building code recently validated in France. Furthermore, the home actually has energy efficiency standards that would have met the requirements in 2005. That’s pretty impressive and clearly the builder, an engineer named Feuillette, had a vision of something better than the norm of his time.

During Construction in 1921

Here’s how you can help. The RFCP is trying to raise money through donations to purchase the property. It’s not cheap, and their goal of 250,000 € is still quite far off. Every donation helps, and you can then become part of history by helping to preserve this beautiful home. Here’s the link to make a donation today. If you want to learn more about the house and how the RFCP sees it as a valuable property worth saving, please read more here.

Arthur Olson, 18, attended last year’s Culyer, New York workshop.  When I met him, I immediately liked him and was struck by his ability to fold into the large workshop group.  Turns out this young man is taking his life by the reigns and creating an incredible future for himself.  He is in the finals for 12 merit scholarships at colleges all around the country, is a finalist for the prestigious 1693 Murray Scholarship which only accepts 6 students from a pool of 13,000 applicants, and has received full ride scholarships to several colleges.  At the center of this success has been an essay that he wrote about his experience at the Culyer workshop.  We want to celebrate Arthur and his accomplishments by bragging a little bit about him here (he’s worked hard and deserves it!) and also to give you the opportunity to read his essay.  It’s well written and put a smile on our faces.  Please check it out below.

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Sometimes in life things may seem so bleak and desperate that it’s hard to find hope or reason to go on.  As grace would have it though, even at these darkest moments, there is an opportunity to surrender and find hope that can be so transformational that it can alter a person’s life and outlook forever.  Renee Ainlay, the host of the April 16-22 workshop in Missouri, is a living and thriving example of what can happen when this transformation takes place.

Renee, not long ago, was sent home by a team of medical experts to die.  She was suffering from a long list of illnesses and diseases which left her so debilitated that there seemed to be no way out of her crisis.  Over $1 Million dollars in medical bills and 14 years of treatment had bought her no relief or even solid explanations as to what was happening to her body.  This was an extremely painful period in Renee’s life and to this day, it brings up a lot of emotion when she talks about it.  She confides that when things were bad, they were really, really bad.

Fortunately, surrounding this wonderful woman was a family of support.  Her husband, John, and their 6 children did everything they could to help Renee as she went through this period.  By divine intervention they were introduced to the principles of a raw food diet and the more they learned about it, the more it all began to make perfect sense to them.  John explains that when we get out of the way of polluting our bodies with additives, preservatives and give our systems raw living food in the right balance and proportions, our bodies can start doing what they are intended to do, which is to heal, release toxins, and to support a person to thrive.  Once the body is receiving the nutrition that it is intended to receive, everything changes including one’s mental outlook and clarity.

Renee was so inspired by what she learned that she dedicated herself to changing her approach to food and began to see food as the healing medicine that it is.  Her detoxification process was intense but by this point she was so filled with hope that she stuck with it and the results were miraculous.  In short time she had energy again, was able to get out of bed, and start taking part in life in a way that she thought she never would again.

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Congratulations to Sarah L. from Nova Scotia, Canada for winning a free seven-day, comprehensive straw bale workshop! She will be joining us in Eld Dorado Springs, Missouri in April. Here’ s alittle bit about Sarah in her own words.

We’ve been home from Mexico for 11 days, and the transition back to living in the States has not been easy. We had grown so accustomed to the simple life we found in Baja and recreating that life here is not as easy as we had hoped it would be. I suppose doing my taxes for the first three days back was not a great way to start the transition, but it had to be done!

After spending several nights at a friend’s house, we began our search for a place to live. We had grand plans of finding the perfect house: no more than 900SF (which would of course feel huge to us after living in a tent trailer for four months), rent under $1000 (that’s a good deal for Ashland, Oregon which has an expensive housing market), and walking distance to downtown. Another option was to have the same style house, only slightly larger to accommodate our home office, outside of town so we could have some land to grow our food and spread our wings. Our vision of what we wanted seemed perfect.

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I hope you find this day to be special and full of love. Don’t worry about buying the chocolates, just show the people you love that they are important to you. Happy Valentine’s Day.

I saw this posted on Facebook today (Thanks Bruce C.) and thought it was worth sharing. I love th eidea of seeing gift giving from a different perspective.

1) THE GIFT OF LISTENING… But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

2) THE GIFT OF AFFECTION… Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3) THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER… Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”

4) THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE… It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

5) THE GIFT OF A COMPLEMENT… A simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “You did a super job” or “That was a wonderful meal” can make someone’s day.

6) THE GIFT OF A FAVOR… Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7) THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE… There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION… The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone, really it’s not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

- Author Unknown

www.onecommunityranch.org

If you are interested in different ways of creating a sustainable community, this website may be of interest to you. Here’s some information I pulled off of their website (I hope they don’t mind, but I want to let their own words inspire you).

PURPOSE
To be the open-source blueprint for a sustainable civilization.

MISSION STATEMENT
To demonstrate a new way of living that addresses the pressing problems of today and prepares the world for the challenges of the next century through a duplicable model of large-scale sustainability for the complete human experience founded on a simple celebration of what we are capable of: completely sustainable lifestyle practices, inspired collaboration and global contribution, zero-waste living, and unconditional love for each other.

VISION STATEMENT
At One Community our vision is to transform the world by being the change we wish to see through a thriving culture of seamless cooperation, creativity, contribution, spiritual growth, meaningful relationships, personal expression, partnerships with like-minded businesses and individuals, and abundance that we happily share with the world.

As many of us know, it is time for our cultures and communities to come together in a new way, in a sustainable way. The One Community Ranch has a vision of how that can look. I hope you enjoy visiting their website and that you decide to help in some way to speed up the transition to a more aware way of being.

Here’s a message I received this last week. Don’t know how long these will be around so call soon if you want them.

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• Barn stored straw bales for sale. Intermediate Wheatgrass (2′to 3′ stems).
• Have used this type on my own straw bale house.
• Contact Scott at 308-672-0877 or Scott@supremehay.com.
• Trucking can be arranged.

www.tm.org

I was recently talking with Gabriella about our business and we both realized just how lucky we are. There are a number of reasons that we consider ourselves lucky, actually a better way to say it is that we are grateful, but one big one came to the forefront during our conversation. It is that we love what we do. The more we spoke, the clearer it became that the reason we love what we do is that we are passionate about it. We truly believe in what we are doing and that makes our “work” not really work.

In this realization, I had the thought about other people in the world. How many of them are living their passion and how many are simply living to survive? So many people have gotten stuck in the machine of our culture, so stuck that they don’t even notice it anymore. They go to work each day at a job they don’t like so they can make enough money to pay for all their stuff (flat screen TVs in each room, multiple cars, a closet full of shoes, and so on). Beyond their stuff, a huge portion of their paycheck goes to pay a mortgage or rent on a house that’s bigger than they actually need. Wal-Mart and other corporations would have them believe that they are living the American Dream, but if they stop long enough to take a look from “outside their life” they may tell you otherwise. A friend of mine once asked me “are you thriving or surviving?” and that’s exactly the question I have for you. (more…)

I am trying to compile as much information as I can about two major subjects as they relate to straw bale construction. The first is mortgages and other straw bale funding options. The second, which I will discuss in another post, is insuring a straw bale project. It’s no secret that the mortgage industry is not what it used to be. I imagine that we could have a long conversation relating to the reasons for the sudden decline in available financing; however, that’s not what I’m most interested in. What I really want to know is: how do we move forward under current conditions? I would love to hear what you know about how to make financing a straw bale project happen. Consider that the lack of straw bale lending can stop projects in their tracks and your input could be the difference between success and the abandonment of a dream.

Perhaps you recently started, or even completed, your own straw bale project. Did you get financing? Did you get a standard mortgage or did you have to get creative? What was your down payment percentage? Were you able to use local financing or did you have to shop around to a larger, more national scale market? Any and everything you can share with me is appreciated. (more…)

Regardless of what you think about the insurance industry and how they help or hinder our economy, one thing is true for right now: home owner’s insurance is required in almost every scenario imaginable when building a house and living in it. Of course one can build a house with cash and choose not to insure it; however, if you plan to get any type of financing, you will be required to show proof of insurance. That’s easy when building a conventional house because insurance companies don’t think twice about insuring them. It’s harder when building anything outside of the “norm” of conventional thinking. And guess what…straw bale construction does not currently fit into the “norm.” That’s why I need your help. (more…)

This is a rather personal blog entry and I hope that you can “hear” it without your filters on. You may agree or disagree with me and that’s fine. I am not trying to convince you of anything nor am I trying to change your mind about anything you currently hold as true. What I do hope is that you will ask yourselves some questions and that you will look deeply in what is true FOR YOU.

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Here’s a note I recently got from Surkhab abd Darcey at PAKSBAB, the Pakistan Straw Bale Appropriate Building organization I’ve mentioned in the past. Please take a minute to help them out.

PAKSBAB is competing in the GISTech-I competition for innovative solutions to economic development problems. Please click on this link to watch our video and then vote for us by clicking on the YouTube “like” button!

Please help us spread the word. Forward this email, post the link on Facebook, Tweet it and/or or share it on your blog. Voting ends Nov. 17, 2011.

Thank you for your support!

Surkhab and Darcey

Surkhab Khan, C.O.O.
Darcey Messner Donovan, P.E., C.T.O.
Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB)
www.paksbab.org