Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building – StrawBale.com

Written By Andrew Morrison
March 11, 2010

Pakistan straw baleThis is an amazing organization that I want to share with you all in hopes that you can help support what they do. You can see more about Pakistan straw bale on their website at www.paksbab.org, but to give you a general idea, they are a nonprofit organization that was created in response to the Kashmir earthquake of 2005. Much of Northern Pakistan was devastated by the earthquake and just as we are seeing today in Haiti, Chile, and Turkey, appropriate and quality housing is the difference between life and death.

To give you an idea of how important safe housing is, I recently heard that roughly 1 in 8 people in Haiti knew someone who had died due to the earthquake. That means that each living person in Haiti not only knows someone who died, but that someone in their family died. Counter that with the death toll in Chile where the housing is much better and more prepared for earthquakes and you’ll see that only .01 in 1 people know someone who died. That’s a shocking difference and it’s ALL because of the housing.

Please check out the video below to learn more about this amazing organization and how you can help stop needless deaths resulting from earthquakes.

Paksbab Video from ZWhit on Vimeo.

Of course, it’s more than just earthquakes. Weather, climate, and general housing quality has an affect on the people within the homes. This organization is helping to teach people how to build themselves amazing, beautiful, and efficient homes. This is a good thing!

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IPad displaying man cutting strawbales

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Straw bale workshop participants applying cob plaster

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10 Responses

  1. Dear Andrew,

    Thank you so much for including PAKSBAB in your blog. We appreciate sincerely your effort to bring the work of our organization to the attention of straw bale construction enthusiasts.

    PAKSBAB is now looking for opportunities to help with residential reconstruction in Pakistan’s conflict-affected areas of Northwest Frontier Province. Four of our recent trainees are from the NWFP area and are prepared to return to their homes to assist with restoration. Additionally, we are also seeking to expand our work to include other countries. We are actively investigating opportunities and partnerships to help with reconstruction efforts in both Haiti and Chile.

    Our projects will continue to engage disadvantaged families in the construction of their own straw bale homes, for which PAKSBAB will provide the necessary materials, instruction and construction expertise. Donations to support our efforts to raise people out of poverty and provide them with a dignified, safe and sustainable way of life can be made through our website and are greatly needed and appreciated.

    PAKSBAB publishes a periodic newsletter with current information on our work and progress. If you or any of your readers would like to receive the newsletter, please send an email through our website (www.paksbab.org) with PAKSBAB Newsletter in the subject line. It is an excellent way to stay informed.

    Thank you again, Andrew, for focusing the attention of your readers on the work PAKSBAB is doing.

    Regards,

    Peggy

  2. This is great! I’ve read in a handful of the goto books on straw bale construction about hand packing bales. This organization has instructions on how to construct a hand baler.
    Thank you,
    Chris

  3. Sir/Ma’am,

    I’m stationed at Camp Eggers in Kabul. Our mission here occasionally intersects with various NGOs. Do you know of an equivalent PAKSBAB organization in Afghanistan (or one poised to begin)? I’m sure this is a long-shot…thought I’d check.

    Rob Breland, Capt, USAF
    NTM-A / CSTC-A, CJ-7, Education Division
    http://www.ntm-a.com/
    “Shona-bo-Shona” — “Shoulder to Shoulder”

  4. Dear Rob,

    PAKSBAB would be willing to work in Afghanistan. I’d be interested in discussing the possibilities with you. Please send me an email via the contact page on our website, http://www.paksbab.org.

    Kind regards,

    Peggy Messner
    Public Relations Coordinator
    Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB)
    P.O. Box 1083
    Truckee, CA 96160 USA
    http://www.paksbab.org

  5. I immediately sent this to a FaceBook Friend in Lahore who has been so kind to share the beauty and genuine pride of his culture and history in Pakistan. As a result of his honest openness, negative myths and perceptions have been dissolving on this side of the planet. I hope he finds hope in the kindness of this non profit.

  6. Thanks from Pakistan to PAKSBAB for working in Pakistan. Straw bale homes are need of the hour in Pakistan and in the whole world.

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