What’s an Ecobuilder?
In a world where everything is green, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between the shades.

Building a house uses a lot of resources. There is no denying this fact. However, it is possible to approach a project with a desire to minimize waste, recycle what can be recycled and to use salvaged materials when possible and appropriate. It is also possible to carefully choose materials to minimize their impact. Natural builders (of which we count ourselves) aim to use natural materials whenever possible. This approach minimises off-gassing into the home. It also means that there is less pollution in the creation of the material and less transportation involved.

Building with straw bales is a simple way to create a highly insulated, all natural building with unparalleled aesthetics. People have been building with bales pretty much since the baler was invented a hundred some odd years ago. About twenty five years ago the technique was rediscovered and since then there have been thousands of buildings built in the U.S., Canada, and all over the world. With so many buildings being built there has been a lot of time and money spent on research and engineering and there is now a much better understanding of the nature of bales themselves, their relationship with the plaster, how moisture behaves in these buildings and most importantly; how to make these buildings strong and durable.

We use strawbale as a technique to close in a timberframe for a number of reasons:

• Reduces the amount of lumber used.
• Provides great insulation (around R30)
• The plaster provides a good air barrier and adds mass to the building
• Readily renewable
• Non-toxic
• Nicely creates a beautiful, inviting space.

We are committed to this journey as natural builders. We don’t have all of the answers, but we are clever and adept at coming up with solutions. We approach building as a craft. Our knowledge and experience are deepened with every job. We are learning as much as we can about a wide range of building options so that we can offer advice and experience in designing a ‘green’ home.

Cost
Straw bale homes are labour intensive. The cost of the straw work, with straw being locally provided and fairly inexpensive, goes towards the work of the crafts people doing the work, not being shipped off to the companies supplying materials made elsewhere. Our homes tend to fall in the current custom home price range of $150 to $250 per square foot.