Green Options » straw bale

Straw Insulation for the Home

Jessop Petroski — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:39:49 +0000

When it comes to home insulation and energy efficiency, a bale of straw may seem like something only the Amish do, but in fact, straw bale insulation has turned out to be an excellent green building element.

In the class of unusual home building elements, is straw really a far fetched concept for insulation? Don’t worry, the big bad wolf is not going to blow this energy efficient home over. Straw bale homes are ultra sturdy, surprisingly fire resistant, and excellent at controlling the temperature in your home.

Straw Bale House Construction and Natural Building Internship

Brian Liloia — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:49:39 +0000

Are you interested in a hands-on straw bale building experience? As you know, there is no better way to learn than by doing. Red Earth Farms is an 80 acre, off-the-grid intentional community based in northeastern Missouri, composed of individual homesteads. Members strive to live ecologically - this means, of course, that members use natural building materials in their homes. Mark Mazzioti is one such individual building a straw bale house, featuring a pasive solar design, post-and-beam framing, and a cement-free rubble trench foundation. Mark, an experienced natural builder, is seeking interns for the upcoming 2009 building season. Here’s his strawbale house and natural building internship information:

Build Your Own Plastic Bottle Greenhouse

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:11:36 +0000

Do you have tons of plastic bottles lying around your house and excess backyard space? If so, you might want to look into building a plastic bottle greenhouse. The greenhouse idea was devised and brought to life by Blue Rock Station. For $5 (the electronic version is $4), you can buy instructions to build one yourself.