Huff 'n' Puff Constructions recommends the following sites.

I am trying to get as many links up as possible that relate to strawbale and sustainable building. But if some of the links don't work, or if you have any problems with any of the website, contact John Glassford.

Bill and Athena Steen — The Canelo Project

The Steens are some of the early pioneers of strawbale building. Their book, The Straw Bale House (co-authors David Eisenebrg and David Bainbridge), is widely and very well regarded. Bill and Athena's website, with a wonderful gallery of some of their work, is just the best strawbale site on the internet.

If you cannot make it to one of their workshops then buy one of their books — you will not be dissapointed.

Didimala Game Lodge Straw Bale in South Africa.

One of the largest straw bale buildings in the world. Enjoy this web site. Susan and I have visited Didimala and it is awesome and the cinema is something else; so are the fees to stay overnight. However you just have to visit it to see for yourselves. While you do come join us in Africa one day.

The House that Rice Built.

Greg and Raquel from California grew and built their own straw bale home from rice straw.

Here is what they say about the cost:

"People often ask about the cost of building a strawbale house as opposed to other forms of construction. In reality, I think strawbale costs about the same as any custom home, or maybe slightly more due to the extra roof and foundation that is required for the thick walls. However, those relatively minor upfront costs are very quickly recovered in the reduced energy bills that you will see over the lifespan of the house, saving you many thousands of dollars.

If we had to do it over again, there are certainly things we would change about our house. But I can guarantee you that we would definitely build it with bales!"

EcoDirectory: Australia's online eco-directory

From sustainable homes to renewable energy or organic food, Australia is going green. EcoDirectory is your starting point to this new green world, with all sorts of eco-friendly products, services and information resources.

"...nothing beats the EcoDirectory if you're looking for information on sustainable services in Australia."
Michael Grosvenor, Sustainable Living for Dummies.

Helen and Per Bernard from Dayelsford Victoria are a husband-and-wife team. Helen is the architect, and Per the Builder. They have designed and built some very special strawbale homes in Victoria and have an excellent website.

Paul Downton is an architect based in Adelaide. Paul's work is simply stunning and he is one of Australia's leading lights in sustainable design and building. We have assisted Paul and his team on three strawbale projects now. Look up his projects page and enjoy the work Paul has created right in the middle of the city.

Graeme North is a partner of Warkworth Architects from Warkworth, New Zealand. Graeme has been involved in earthen, strawbale, and eco-architecture over the past 30 years. He has around 100 earthen architecture projects to his credit, with several strawbale buildings now built or in the pipeline.

Ian Redfern is our Kiwi representative for AUSBALE and is doing some great work with strawbale. Take a look around his website for details of his New Zealand strawbale building workshops. Ian is from Whangarei in the north island of NZ.

Australian Greenhouse
Probably one of the most important websites for Aussie strawbalers is this one by Australian Greenhouse. The information was provided by Paul Downton and edited by the Straw Wolf. The information is accurate and is very helpful when approaching your local council for approval.

Earth Garden
Alan Gray, editor of the Earth Garden magazine, has got right behind strawbale building in Australia and they have also created a discussion list for us Aussie balers. They also have a good resource section for Aussie strawbale building.

The Owner Builder Magazine one of Australia's leading building magazines. The magazine was established in 1982 and has been serving the interests of the owner builder ever since. Whether you are still thinking about buying a plot of land, planning and designing your home or already in the building phase, there will be something of interest. OB has regular articles on straw bale building.

John Swearingen is a wonderful strawbale builder and designer from California. Look up his projects page and be in awe!

Turko and Mob from Californa
Semmes & Co. Builders, San Luis Obispo County, California

Unique and creatively styled, environmentally friendly homes. By blending time-tested building techniques as well as the most current materials and technologies, these homes are durable, energy efficient and above all a delight to live in.

Great builder and a good mate. Have a look around at what a real professional can do with a strawbale home.

Barbara Jones Amazon Nails
Have a look at the roundhouse that Barbara built in Ireland. Simply stunning!

Chug's World of Strawbale Building
This site will give you a heap of information relating to strawbale building in the U.K., including how to get involved, how to contact other like minded people, how to get started, what you need to know, what you need to do, and how to go about doing it. Chug also manages the Straw Bale Building Association's website.

Strawbale (and other) building resources: The short list
If you're thinking about building a house you might want to get yourself up to speed with construction in general, and alternative construction specifically. Here's a little list of resources to get you started.

Balestone: The house diary
Yep, we both came down with owner-builder syndrome and built a strawbale house ourselves. Yep, we're living in it now and, nope, we're still not finished. But our diary is a good place for first-hand thoughts on the whole process of building a place to love and live in the rest of one's life. We also have some definite opinions on building with strawbales, as well as working with an architect/designer, and on salvaging materials, both new and old. And there's a list of quality suppliers and contractors that might help Front Range folks; plus a how-to on creative financing.

Colorado straw balers: The tour
Hop in the Chevy for a tour of some strawbale places around the state — things to learn, places to see, and nice folks to meet; lotsa pictures, so be patient.

Surfin' strawbale
Surfin' is now in the custody of the Masonry Heater Association . It hasn't been revised since the last century, so you might want to keep that in mind. (Plans for a big update are in the works though). Read the books if you want basic SB info, subscribe to The Last Straw if you want up-to-date info, and join the SB list if you want to yak with other SB folks. For everything else, we recommend using Google to sift through the web. Our search tips will help.

Strawbale list & archives
How to subscribe to the strawbale list at REPP-CREST, the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology; an interesting mix of real-life SB experience and a whole lotta theory too; clicking on the title will get you to the archives; there's a (somewhat functional) search engine too.

Natural building resources
If you're just starting out with all this alternative building stuff be sure to look at this site. Home of the online Natural Building Colloquium: SB, earthbags, leaned brick, straw/clay — you name it — plus a great primer on natural building techniques, and lots of photos.

Sustainable sources
This is another site to use in deciding which products to choose when you build. It includes the Sustainable Building Sourcebook, which has great articles with contacts and hard data on lots of different building subjects.

Environmental building news
This site has info on green products for you to use, including reviews. Don't miss their primer on sustainability, "What is Green Building?". They also sponsor the Greenbuilding List, a discussion group on the latest techniques and products with a professional slant.

Sustainable architecture
Any site that begins with a Wendell Berry quote is all right by Chizz; Roy Prince's well-organized list of links by subject; everything from strawbale to rammed earth to environmental illness.

Green Harvest

An interesting site with lots of good organic information. I personally like the information on chooks. Once you have built your straw bale home you will need good organic seeds for your permaculture garden. They are based in Maleny, SE Queensland, a beautiful part of Australia.

Strawbale FAQ
Skillful Means Builders of CA has a good site, as do CASBA, DSA Architects and Sustainable Earth Enterprises. If these don't answer your questions, it's time to read a book.