Straw Bale Building: How to Plan, Design and Build with Straw

This is one of my favorite straw bale building books. I never get tired of reading or referring back to it. I just wish I had Chris Magwood here to give this single gal a hand building her own casita pequita!

Big bad wolf ain't got nothin on this book!

Detailed instructions for the layperson are not too difficult to understand. Unfortunately the illustrations are black and white. I got what I was looking for with this book- more info on straw bale building.

very happy with book

Have lived in the U.S., a good many years, off grid, grow my own food, etc. I’ve decided that I have had about as much of the U.S. as I can stand, so I am moving to Harare region in Zimbabwe, where my best friend lives.The Zimbabwe government gives each natural born citizen a minimum of 10 acres and drills a well for them, plus a minimum of 10 fruit trees. My intention is to share the knowledge of living off grid, with the local village there. I have experience in straw bale houses, beekeeping, permaculture, solar/wind power, growing mushrooms, hybrid solar oven building…well, just a lot of stuff. The houses in Bulawayo where I will be moving are built like adobe houses, with small windows….very uninviting so I am hoping to show them about the concept of solar gain and overhanging patios that are left uncovered in winter and covered in summer.Blessedly, it doesn’t get much over 85 there in the summer….and only 50’s in winter, thus it’s a perfect place for year round growing and straw bale houses.Zimbabwe grows almost a half million tons of wheat there a year, so wheat straw is very cheap, about $1.50 per bale….bales like we used to have here in the U.S….about 80 pounds each.AND…this really thrills me…..they have adobe type soil there…not everywhere, but enough places so that we can build them authentically Southwest style.The village Elders have invited me to teach them my life experiences, and I am very excited about doing so.So….to this book. A good deal of it is dedicated to all the rules and regulations of government over authority….but I think the villagers will get a kick out of seeing how lucky and unfettered their life is of being able to live and make their own decisions, compared to the U.S.The pictures are of low quality and I would have expected more of a gallery of pictures for people who are not looking to build a mansion. Mine is 400s.f. And really, all I’ve ever needed. Not too much creativeness shown in this book….it’s geared more to “traditionalists”. It mainly concentrates on square houses and lacks a section on building hornos, or indoor furniture.It’s an okay book, but I wouldn’t recommend it as the only book on straw bale houses you should buy.