Category: News

Straw Bale Article Published

Here is the article about straw bale building that I wrote for Home Power Magazine. Once the viewer loads, click the full-screen icon (the four-cornered box) and zoom in to read. Enjoy! – Rebecca Home_Power_articleonly

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Deer Park Monastery New Nunnery

The straw bale buildings at Deer Park Monastery nominated for an Orchid Award

The straw bale buildings we helped build for the Deer Park Buddhist Monastery in Escondido were nominated for an Orchid award in the 2016 “Orchids & Onions” by the San Diego Architecture Foundation.       “Deer Park Monastery- Nun’s Residence The form—based on a traditional Spanish Hacienda embracing a central courtyard with plantings—encourages togetherness …

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Straw Bale Open House-in-Process, 9/11/16

Sunday, September 11th, noon-3pm, The Wakeham Project, Solana Beach, CA A rare opportunity to tour a straw bale house under construction! Come talk with the builders and check out how the straw bales go together to form the walls in this 1600 sq ft, two-story straw bale home designed by Hubbell & Hubbell Architects. This is the …

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Our straw bale project seeks LBC Net Zero!

We are excited to announce that our current straw bale project, the Fallgren Naturally Healthy Home, is now registered with the Living Building Challenge seeking Net Zero Energy Building certification, which is a rigorous standard that will verify that the project used the land appropriately, considered beauty, and that this home is so energy efficient that …

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Santa Cruz Straw Bale Building Workshop – 7/7 to 7/10/16

Want to get hands-on and learn a lot about straw bale building in a short time from knowledgable teachers? Check out this 3 day straw bale building workshop presented by the CA Straw Building Association in Santa Cruz, CA in July. You’ll get to work on a real straw bale home alongside professionals like Jim …

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CASBA Straw Bale Building Conference 4/21 – 4/24/16

The California Straw Building Association invites you to attend our annual conference. This year’s conference celebrates CASBA’s 20th anniversary and the amazing progress we’ve made bringing straw bale and other forms of natural, low-carbon building to life. Join this diverse range of building experts gathering to share, discuss, and collaborate. There will be presentations, tours, …

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Tour the straw bale buildings at the Deer Park Monastery 10/4/15

A rare opportunity to tour the new straw bale buildings at the Deer Park Buddhist Monastery Four curved straw bale buildings wrap around a central courtyard. A covered breezeway made of reclaimed timber connects them.  With graceful super-insulated straw bale walls and passive solar orientation, these buildings will help the Sisters live comfortably in-tune with nature. Natural ventilation, efficient heating and cooling …

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Tour de Bale – straw bale home tour May 31st

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Tour! 160+ people at 12 straw bale houses!   Tour de Bale – straw bale home tour in San Diego Sunday, May 31, 2015, noon-4pm at locations all over San Diego County   Experience for yourself some of the beautiful, efficient, & natural straw bale buildings in …

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volunteer opportunities

THE WORKDAYS ARE NOW FULL, NO MORE REGISTRATIONS CAN BE ACCEPTED. The dates for the workdays have been released and the few remaining spots will fill up fast. There will be 3 workdays where you can to volunteer to help stack bales and apply clay plasters, coming up this winter at the Deer Park Monastery in Escondido. …

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Wanted: Public Space for Clay Plaster

We are looking to partner with the owners of public spaces (stores, galleries, spas, etc) to put clay plaster where people can see and touch it. The unique beauty of clay plaster is hard to capture in photographs or text, people need to be able to see and touch it to fully appreciate it. If …

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