straw bale

Thanks to the effort of many people, natural building enthusiasts and people who are just curious can participate in the Natual building Colloquium from October 19-28, 2007 in Kerrville, Texas. Located in the beautiful Hill Country, colloquium participants will benefit from slideshows and lectures on various contruction systems as well as participate in some hands-on building. All of the structures will be built on the grounds of the Kerrville Folk Festival so the thousands of next year's 18-day festival attendees will be exposed to the beauty and simplicity of permaculture.

Two women building beautiful homes in the UK. Hugg this article to support Barbara and Bee's work so that as many people as possible see that women build great houses.

This green blog tells you how to include a map of natural homes in your eco-friendly blog. You can include a whole collection of homes from straw bale houses to earthships, with links back to the owner's website, or include only the home type you are keen on, like cordwood homes or off-grid homes. Go on... spice up your blog with an eco-friendly natural homes map.

This is an interesting collection of low-impact homes around the world on google maps with links to the owner-builders' websites. It's the perfect place to inspire you to build a natural, eco-friendly home. You can help spread the word about eco-living by putting a copy of the map in your own blog. Get the simple one line of code here.

The website also provides up-to-date listings of natural building courses such as straw bale and many volunteer opportunities.

Some of these alternative housing methods are extremely useful to the earth, as everyday trash can be used to build an entire house, or a natural material can be used, and then recycled when the house is ready to be torn down.

In the past, homeowners struggled to obtain permits and insurance for buildings that combined modern technology with ancient wisdom, largely because community officials and underwriters didn't understand them. They worried about fire and property values. Those fears are being dissipated, and times are changing.