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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.”

strawbale builder
 
 
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
 
 

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