Interested in part-time on-the-job training and focused classwork centered on natural, high-performance building? Check out our new Training + Certificate Program! We are pleased to offer this unique opportunity in partnership with the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute. Only four places will be offered per 3 month semester, applications are due May 18, 2019. Here’s …
Category: bale related
The long-awaited “Straw Bale Building Details” book is available!
After more than ten years of work by many, many people, the book actually really exists! I’m proud to be one of about 40 contributors to this great book that covers many options and variations for building with straw bales and is full of good illustrations. This is the book I wish I had had …
Testimony about one of our strawbale homes in the snow
Attached are some photos taken this AM of the house - 3-4" of snow which is pretty good for Campo. Low 20's outside at night. Interior drops to 72 when the woodstove is cold or overnight, and the whole house heats quite uniformly. We haven't used the mini-split heater. I know I harp on this, but such performance is remarkable. This house is just so damn easy to live in
Strawbale Building Hands-on Workshop 2/9/19
There are still a few spots left for the Strawbale Building Workshop we will be teaching at Terra Corazon Farm in Valley Center on Sat., Feb 9, 2019, as part of the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute’s new Natural Building Program. This will be a fun day spent in a relaxed and safe environment learning …
SD County drops fees for ADUs / guest houses!
More good news about building an ADU (aka guest house, granny flat): the County of San Diego has followed the City’s lead and reduced permitting fees for ADUs! The County allows an ADU to be added to any property with an existing house (as long as you meet certain zoning regulations). A detached ADU can …
Framing a Tiny Natural Building: a workshop geared towards women 1/19/19
Natural Building Workshops
Want to visit a strawbale house, touch clay plaster, or sit on a cob bench? Green Homes Tour 10/21/18
Interested in seeing some of our work in person? Here’s your chance: three projects we worked on will be open to the public on the Green Homes Tour on Sunday, Oct 21, 2018, from 10 am – 4 pm. The Tour is an annual event hosted by the San Diego chapter of the Green Building …
Saving the world with carbon-smart materials like straw
It sounds far-fetched at first, but building with straw and other bio-based, carbon-sequestering materials can help fight climate change. We can go beyond “doing less harm” with building, we can actually do some good. Check out this chart from Architecture 2030’s Carbon-Smart Materials Palette showing that straw bales not only cause less carbon dioxide to …
Fallgren Strawbale Home will be featured on SDGBC’s Green Homes Tour Oct 2018
The Fallgren strawbale home, recently certified a Net Zero Energy Building through the Living Building Challenge, will be featured on this year’s Green Homes Tour! The tour is Sunday, October 21, 2018 from 10 am – 4 pm at locations all over the county. More info and registration can be found here. *** Update: There are …
Our new net zero strawbale article is published
Our newest article on high-performance strawbale building is out in this month’s Home Power magazine! The article is all about our recent strawbale project that achieved Net Zero Energy Building certification through the Living Building Challenge. This home will be part of the USGBC’s Green Homes Tour on Oct 21, 2018. Here’s a link to …