| Amazonails,
a special approach to building a straw bale house
Barbara and Bee of Amazonails
enable ordinary people, young and old of all abilities or
disabilities to get involved in building homes. It’s
a rich and wonderfully inclusive experience when you join
them building one of the UK’s growing numbers of straw
bale homes. Their building sites usually include a large number
of volunteers like the teams that helped build the Clowbeck
eco-center near
Darlington in the North East of England. Barbara says, “By
working with volunteers we are able to educate a much wider
audience than if we operated a traditional contractor built
site. Many volunteers come to work with us specifically to
gain the skills and knowledge required to be able to build
their own houses using environmentally friendly techniques
and sustainable materials.”
|
|
|
|
A
well earned cup of tea at Clowbeck |
Bee
introducing the day's work |
|
|
| |
If
you join Barbara and Bee on one of their projects
you get an inspiring initiation into a common-sense
way of building that re-captures the skill of
building for the people. Volunteers can see
at first hand how to use sustainable materials
to build a home without compromising on quality,
cost or style and most importantly, without
damaging the earth we all share. A
building site doesn’t have to be intimidating,
or competitive and macho, all the things associated
with today's building practice. The atmosphere
on an Amazonails build is special and I can
guarantee you will meet special people there
too, from American potters and management consultants
to Russian artists and engineers; everyone you
can imagine is getting involved. |
|
|
Barbara
and Bee are expert at helping people become part of a group
all working together to achieve a common aim. Each person’s
experience and skills are valued and appreciated and everyone
leaves richer for the experience.
|
Where
are the beautifully built straw bale homes by Amazonails
You can see some of the wonderful buildings Amazonails have
built over the years on this map.
Just click on any of the straw icons to see a picture of the
home with a short description and a link to more websites. If
you're wondering how could I get a loan in the UK to build a
straw bale house then look no further than the ecology
building society 
whose
meeting room was built by Amazonails in April 2005 with 20 volunteers
in only 6 days.
You can see more straw bale and other low-impact homes on the
natural
homes map |
| |
| |
