It all started with a concept, a dream,
that a cozy, artful 300 sq-ft home and business
sufficient for two love birds could be built for
$1,500 with an ecological footprint a fraction of
standard housing. Even before we broke ground, a hand
painted sign announcing the “Straw Bale
Cafe” was hung between two twisting birches to
welcome mountain wanderers. We wanted to create an
example that was replicable by average people with
average skills. The decision to use mostly simple
hand tools was founded on our love of the sound of a
Ruffed Grouse beating its wings, the breeze exciting
aspen leaves or the air forced through the tips of a
raven’s wings. A thread of our life purpose is
to live equitably among the 6 billion humans and 25
million other species. As household construction and
heating are the second largest contributors to
environmental impact, behind cars, making this dream
a reality felt necessary.
While most
North Americas work 30 years primarily paying for
their house, we felt sad that so many people’s
life energy goes to mortgages instead of serving
others or the Earth. In the end, the Earth bears the
costs of our luxuries, suffering from clear-cuts,
mines and pollution while our house sits empty all
day while we work to pay for it. Why give our life
energy to forest companies, bankers and a myriad of
corporations making all the toxic materials that
humans typically surround themselves with ? A quantum
simplification in housing could free enough people to
begin to turn the tide!
Before
ecological footprinting (EF) was developed by Bill
Rees and Mathis Wackernagel at the University of
British Columbia, it was difficult to know if our
lifestyles or housing designs were sustainable. EF
measures the land needed from around the world to
provide each person’s resources and absorb the
wastes. By dividing Earth’s bio-productive areas
among all humans, each has a 5.3 acre share. However,
this leaves nothing for the 25 million other species.
My partner, Erica Sherwood and I decided our goal was
to leave 80% of our 5.3 acre share wild, meaning we
would have to learn to meet all our material needs
from 1 acre of Earth (Americans use 24 acres, East
Indians use 2 acres). This is our personal,
measurable sustainability definition. Read on to see
how the Straw Bale Cafe measures up! The first stage
was establishing our design parameters:
1) Affordable
by 90% of humans. Our goal: $1,500 USD (5 years
salary of an East Indian).
2) Living
space on a par with global citizen: 150 sq-ft/person
(740 sq-ft/person is US average).
3) Ecological
Footprint (EF) for housing to be 0.1 acre/person of
the total EF goal of 1 acre.
4) Sufficient
insulation and solar input to use 1 cord of wood,
resulting in an EF of 1 acre for heating, cooking and
hot water.
5) No toxic
materials; minimal synthetic or store bought
materials.
6) Use of
materials primarily from on site or from our
bioregion.
Meeting these
constraints felt easy after witnessing common sense
solutions scattering the countryside of communist
Kerala, including a father and son building a house
from timbers and bricks made on site. However, back
in North America, building a simple home is not so
easy, so our next stage of the project was:
Prayers
Our site was
sufficiently wild that we did not fear arrest for
holding a ground-breaking ceremony around an outdoor
fire and praying. Although our home/office/cafe was
to be tiny, still over 100 trees would die and
Earth’s skin would be torn open for sand, clay
and lime. On the assumption that we are similar to
most two-leggeds, the cougar, bear, deer and marten
will stay clear once the home is built, effectively
shrinking their habitat. So we said, “I’m
sorry,” “thank you,” and sang some
pretty songs so the forest knew we meant it.
The
Building Process
Lots of
friends became the cornerstones of this project. On a
crisp autumn day we dug the perimeter trench for the
12' X 15' inside area that was18" deep and
packed it with loose rocks to create a platform
25" wide and 10" above the ground level.
Then we made a platform from cedar poles for the
18" X 14" X 36" straw bales to rest
upon. Two parallel 15' poles of 5" diameter were
capped on each end with an 18" 2 by 4 and four
identical sections were built, then staked together
and leveled. Maple spears of 2.5" diameter were
fastened vertically to the cedar rounds rising enough
to pierce midway into the second course of bales,
giving the appearance of a bizarre torture device.
All 6 courses
of bales were placed and pinned with long maple
spears. Four more sections of 15' cedar poles,
similar to those described for the foundation capped
the top of the load-bearing bale wall. The outer
north and south poles were 27' long to provide a 4'
and 5' overhang on the east and west walls
respectively, which includes a balcony that overlooks
the snowcapped peaks of Mt. Dag and Wolves’
Ears. Upon this platform, the ceiling and roof
structures were made using Douglas fir poles. A
dormer on the south side lets in lots of light and
makes for a spacious upstairs love nest.
A metal roof
was installed, and beneath, 10" thick straw
bundles were tightly wrapped with twine and tied in
between roof rafters for insulation. Long roof
overhangs keep the bale walls dry, even in a
rainforest. The whole building was allowed to settle
for one winter with the heavy snow load which
compressed the bales six inches making it ready for
mudding.
The following
summer, 3 coats of adobe were applied straight onto
the straw with the first coat mixed a bit soupy and
smushed into the straw. Our mix consisted of 80%
sand, 10% lime and 10% clay with a 14 oz can of
concrete and a 28 oz can of wood ash added to each
wheelbarrow load for good measure. All materials were
gathered within a 5 minute walk except for 250 lbs of
lime and concrete from the devil. Once dry, the
curvaceous finish turned a sensual golden-brown Earth
tone.
A
Home Tour
As I sit at
the breakfast nook in the SW corner, I gaze across
the 12' expanse to the kitchen counter formed by a
beautifully curved cedar tree. All dishes live on a
rack made of alder above the sink and drip into a
tray that directs the water to the sink. Our sink is
fed by a gravity-feed pipe from a small creek, and we
drink delicious untreated, alive surface water. The
grey water feeds our comfrey patch. A trap door in
the floor leads to the root cellar used in lieu of
its antiquated counterpart, the ozone depleting
refrigerator. Scanning the 15' windowless north wall
we first encounter the wood stove used for cooking,
heating and hot water above which hang pots, pans,
drying laundry, herbs and roadkill deer. In the NE
corner is a stylish deco vintage shower-stall base
with a retractable curtain. As we continue our
circular tour, we encounter the office, complete with
laptop computer and boombox. Files are neatly tucked
under the stairs to the bedroom. Under the desk is a
box of kindling and paper, a food box, a box of
sewing supplies, a box of onions, and office
supplies. In the SW corner hang bundles of garlic
complete with stalks, somewhat hiding my bass guitar.
The south wall is almost entirely glass and is now
occupied by garden starts and trays of sunflower
sprouts. The entire center of the room is uncluttered
and spacious enough for 17 to dance. We are connected
to the power grid but only use $3 of electricity per
month and have a phone line.
Social
Engineering
How can two
love birds end up not killing each other while
sharing a 300 sq-ft home you might ask? Think about
birds sharing a nest. When the wild Earth beckons all
around, why pace the corridors of a large cage? Erica
and I have agreed not to talk unless eye contact is
made. I don’t walk in from outdoors and say,
“what are you reading” unless her eyes give
that café rise, otherwise I leave her be. Psychic
space is easy to give and is footprint free.
So, how does
the Straw Bale Cafe measure up? The footprint
for the straw, wood, metal, glass, plastic,
electrical system, gas (for milling and delivery) and
concrete was 23 times lower footprint than standard
US construction on a per-person basis (EF = .112
acres for Straw Bale Cafe, 2.53 acres for standard
housing). The total cost was $1,394.
Jim Merkel and Erica Sherwood direct
the Global Living Project and teach sustainability
skills. They can be reached at:
Gr. 4 C.17 RR#1, Winlaw, BC;
VOG 2JO / (250) 355-2585;
email: jmerkel@netidea.com;
website: www.netidea.com/~jmerkel/
The GLP
Summer Institute will be August 5 - 18, 2001. The
first week focuses on sustainability skills for
educators, activists and students while the second
week will include in-depth homesteading skills. Cost:
$300 per week. Contact Jennifer Compton at: sc@netidea.com or call
(250) 352-1244
Resources:
The Global Living Handbook by Jim Merkel, $5 plus
s&h. Order from the Simple Living Network www.simpleliving.net or phone
1-800-318-5725.
For a more
complete and detailed ecological footprinting of
their 300 sq-ft home, email Jim and Erica at jmerkel@netidea.com.
