Essential Skill #46: Build a Straw Home

"Straw has been used in construction for thousands of years," writes author David de Rothschild in The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, "and bales were turned into buildings in the 1800s on the American Great Plains -- where there were no trees. The idea of building with straw was rediscovered by eco-conscious architects in the 1980s, and today's straw houses are not just drafty little houses on the prairie."

So what makes straw-bale construction such an eco-friendly alternative to wood? Well, there' s the obvious reason of all the trees saved in the process. Then there's the fact that the straw that's used for home construction is "waste" straw that would normally be burned, emitting CO2 into the air. Finally, straw is a super-insulator -- keeping it cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter.

Of course, at first consideration there appears to be one serious drawback -- fire hazard. But as it turns out, straw is actually more fire-resistant than wood construction!

Here are the basics of straw home construction:

• Straw bales are used to fill in a wood frame
• The straw-stuffed walls are two-feet thick
• It's coated with stucco and plaster
• You get two to three times more energy efficiency than with traditional construction

"Combined with other green building tricks," writes de Rothschild, "(south-facing windows for 'passive solar' heating, efficient heating and cooling systems, and double-paned, low-e windows), your energy use can drop by two-thirds."