Straw Bale Construction

Straw bale construction is gaining worldwide recognition as a viable, high-performance, earth- and people-friendly building technique which utilizes a natural by-product of food production. The Straw Bale Solution is 30-minute video introduction to straw bale building. It offers viewers an excellent look at $1.50 a square foot straw-bale homes in Mexico and the custom high-end straw-bale mansions of Santa Fe... How and why they are built, why they make so much sense and cents, and how to get started are all covered." The Straw Bale Solution (#C 01)

Building with bales can produce ecological, empowering and affordable housing, and NetWorks' award-winning video provides an entertaining overview of how and why. Narrated by Athena and Bill Steen, co-authors of The Straw Bale House book, The Straw Bale Solution features interviews with architects, engineers, owner-builders and leading straw-bale advocates. See how-to-build, learn about weather and code implications, and experience the barn-raising, community-building aspects of straw-bale homes. Then follow the Steens south of the border as they work with Save The Children in Sonora, Mexico, empowering local townspeople to create comfortable homes from straw bales - an abundant agricultural "waste product" of the region. Educators and innovators, Bill and Athena Steen push the boundaries of vernacular architecture and reveal how the world-wide housing shortage could have a Straw Bale Solution. Made possible by the Katherine and Lee Chilcote Foundation and The Lifebridge Foundation. 30 minutes. The Last Straw

The Last Straw, the quarterly journal of straw-bale and natural building, began in 1992 with Judy Knox and Matts Myhrman of Out On Bale (un)Ltd at the publishing helm. Five years later, with The Last Straw well-established and recognized as the resource for up-to-date and pertinent straw-bale construction information, Judy and Matts felt the need to begin focusing on other important projects which had to be put on hold when interest in straw-bale construction skyrocketed. They began the search for a responsible, committed team who would continue the tradition of high quality outreach and reporting they had established, and in 1998 they chose NetWorks Productions to be their production and publishing successors.



In 2003, TLS was transfered to, and is now published by the Green Prairie Foundation for Sustainability in Lincoln, Nebraska. For a current subscription visit www.thelaststraw.org Networks still sells back issues (#1-39) of TLS Contact:

Catherine Wanek, NetWorks Productions

119 Main Street

Kingston, NM 88042

575-895-5652

mail@builderswithoutborders.org



