What could look more suited to become a building block than a bale of straw, neatly trussed into a perfect rectangular cube? That same thought must have struck America's pioneers as they settled into the Great Plains only to find a serious lack of timber. What was left but to experiment with the straw left behind in the meadow-hay and wheat fields after harvesting? Not only are many of these early straw bale buildings still standing, they are still in use today.

Lasting Impressions
Straw is a very resilient plant material. The California Straw Building Association (CABS) says that when straw is plowed into the ground, it can take up to six months to decompose. Rice straw, which has a high silica content, takes twice that time. The key to the longevity of straw bales is keeping them dry. Straw has been found intact in ancient Egyptian tombs. Certainly its use as a building material has spanned centuries around the world.

Nature's Building Blocks
Straw bales are very flexible. They're easy to cut to size and easy to stack for walls. Often straw bales are used as in-fill between the columns of a structural framework of wood, according to the book The Straw Bale House (Chelsea Green Publishing: White River Junction, VT). The benefit of this method is that the bales, which can compress under weight, do not bear the weight of the roof. With this "post-and-beam" approach, a home receives the benefits of timber and straw's insulation value, fire-resistance and natural finished look. Straw bale homes are not limited in size or design. Many large homes, such as the Burritt Mansion in Huntsville, Ala., are hiding bales of straw inside their elegant exterior walls. And the finished look can take many appearances. Commonly straw bale homes, particularly those in the Western United States, are finished with stucco to look like the traditional adobe homes indigenous to New Mexico, for example. This soft, undulating finished effect appeals to many people. The inside walls are plastered. This protection coupled with the external stucco keeps the bales safe from water and insects. Bales are so strong that cabinets, shelving and other typical home interior elements are easily attached to the walls, just as they would be in a conventional home. Straw bale homes can save homeowners money. "Savings come in being able to use one's own labor to build the house and in paying less for heating and cooling," says John Swearingen, owner of Skillful Means, a straw bale and conventional architecture and construction firm in Junction City, CA. "The combination of straw's great insulation and plaster's high thermal mass can create a building that is more comfortable in a wide range of climate variations and that translates into reduced need for artificial heating and cooling." Straw bale homes, one might think, would be anything but fire-resistant, but so they are. The bales are so compacted, they do not allow enough air to permit combustion, according to The Straw Bale House. In the book, it is noted that firefighters use straw bales to make smoke for their training exercises because the bales smolder rather than burn.

Becoming a Straw Bale Builder
Unless there has already been a straw bale building approved by local building officials, the process of obtaining a permit can be a lengthy and laborious process... but it is possible to get approval," according to The Straw Bale House. More than half of the counties in California, for example, allow straw bale construction. Easier to obtain permits for non-load bearing straw bale homesŒthose in which straw bales are used as in-fill between a structural framework of conventional building materials, usually wood. The joy for many people who choose to build straw bale homes is the ability to participate directly in the building of one's home. It's fairly easy to learn the method of stacking bales. "Straw-bale technology is evolving rapidly, and much of the current information is on the web," Swearingen adds. "And seeing is believing Œthere are many workshops for straw bale construction and bale-raisings are great places to have your questions answered."

Monica Emerich is a freelance writer from Boulder, Colorado.