build a straw bale house

My wife and I have been interested in natural building for a while but haven’t quite had the time or motivation to figure out the first steps. How do we get started? We’ve lacked the motivation mostly because we’ve been moving around because of my wife’s education and we’ve been renting all the while. She’ll finally be done in a year so I think it’s time we start looking into the possibility of building a straw bale house again. We still don’t know where we’ll end up, where she’ll be able to get a job, but I want to start looking into the process of making our dream a reality.

For the longest time I’ve wanted three things:
1. My own place
2. To build something completely from nature, completely by myself
3. To impact the environment as little as possible

A few months ago I found a book on building with strawbales at the library and I pretty much fell in love.

because I do not believe that the earth needs any new structures, straw or not. I want LESS impact…. so probably would choose a yurt or not to build at all.

I want to have a eco friendly unique straw bale house.

More and more I am leaning toward a yurt as a non-invasive, non-permanent structure in which to live.

do I actually want to build another structure on the earth? I have a friend who has a house that is off grid and is on 4 acres. I just want to buy that and make it my own. Maybe. I need to go see the area first.

I’d love to build a straw bale house, but My 1st choice would be a dugout…. maybe id build it with straw bale walls. can you do that? xoxo

I built a straw bale house 10yrs ago and have lived in it since. I love it and would do it again. At the time I built it, I had no experience building homes. It took 18mos to complete and through the process I learned enough to start my own construction company.

After years of wanting to build a straw bale house, and after buying numerous books and even a DVD, I’ve decided to build with stone instead. Straw bale is really better for other environments. If I move to the west, or a less humid environment I’ll consider it again. Most people who build with it here have mold issues. Also, I don’t think the straw is as available here than in some areas..and it can be used for mulch and such. Rock is simply more plentiful here, and it’s a free material. It just makes more sense.

My reward for building an off-grid straw bale house will be that NOTHING will come in the door unless it is something I love and cherish. I will not fill it full of walmart crap. I will live a life of simplicity where material objects are concerned for as long as I live in that house.

Simplicity works for me where material things are concerned, but damned if I can make it work where matters of the spirit and heart are concerned.