Strawbale 101: Alternative Buildings and Lifestyles

The "three little pigs" were all wrong - believe it or not strawbales are an excellent building material. I have spent the past week working on a strawbale house that is very stable, extremely well insulated, and relatively easy and affordable to build. Despite what most people think, strawbales are not a fire hazard and are compact and durable enough to last for ages. Not only does straw make pragmatic sense for economic reasons, it is also a sustainable building material that can be acquired locally.

When I arrived in Hotnitsa, the basic structure of the house was in place, so we have been working on sealing the outside of the straw with layers of lime plaster. It is very dirty work, but also rewarding when progress is made. We have successfully finished the first coat since I've arrived and are due to begin the second outer coat tomorrow. Hopefully the second coat will be finished before I leave next weekend, but none of us are experts and we may still encounter a few surprises . . .

I find it fascinating that people were using strawbales to build houses in the Great Plains a century ago, but only recently has the practice been rediscovered as an economic and environmentally friendly way to build a structure. The ability to "Do It Yourself" is also attractive to many people who want the satisfaction of building a house themselves from the ground up. I am really interested in these sorts of alternative building methods, including cordwood, cobb and straw. I'm glad I am seeing the not-so-glamorous side of this alternative building method; I now have a real sense of how much work a project like this can take.

Natural housebuilding takes a lot of work, but it is labor intensive rather than capital intensive. This distinguishes it from modern construction in that it takes a lot of man hours rather than expensive equipment and specialized tools. This is where I come in - cheap labor! Allen and Eileen are registered on the Help Exchange website in order to recruit interested people to help them finish their project. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement for several reasons. The host get an extra set of hands without having to pay - an obvious plus - but simply provide accomodation and food. The volunteer gains experience in a project of interest and free accommodation for their time. In my case, I would never be able to afford a year long trip across Eurasia if I had to pay for accommodation and three meals a day. Also, this project and others give me a chance to gain practical, hands-on skills and get to know one region in some depth.

I have received a lot of grief from people when I tell them that I am 'volunteering' or 'working for free' while abroad, and at times I have questioned why I went to school for so many years if my time is worth nothing more than a bed and three squares a day. In reality though, most people work only for food and accommodation. I was working 60 hours a week in Missoula, but I had very little money left after I paid for my food and accommodation, and what little was left over I saved for traveling. Now, I work only 30 hours a week (6 hours a day/5 days a week) and I have lovely accommodation with three delicious meals that I don't have to prepare myself! And I am doing it in interesting corners of the globe! It is a much simpler arrangement than I had in Missoula - no bills, no taxes, no shopping - and I am learning a great deal.

I have just a few more days here at Hotnitsa, then off to Istanbul, Turkey for a few days before a long bus trip along the Black Sea coast to Tbilisi, Georgia! The next leg of the trip will be a little more adventurous - goodbye Europe and hello Asia!

P.S. - Sorry for spelling errors - the Spellcheck isn't working :-(