In the spring of 2009 RKY Camp decided to take on a new challenge and rebuild one of its older cabins using as many sustainable building methods as possible. Our aim was to create an eco-friendly building that we could use as a learning tool in our nature program. We soon settled on the idea of a straw bale cabin. Know nothing of the process we ask a local contractor that specializes in straw bale construction to help us with this project, Joe Vidal of Lone Wolf Construction come on board to help us with the construction.

The first steps were to find a flat piece of land and clear that area for the foundation. (Figure 1 ). We then built a series of pillars to keep the cabin up off the ground keeping the straw as dry as possible.

Basically the walls are made by stacking bales of straw and then covering them with a concrete mixture. These walls need a very sturdy platform to support the weight and keep it from shifting over time. In this photo (Figure 2) you can see Tim Cota working at setting the heavy-duty floor joists in place to support the floor and walls.
The next step in the project was the funniest step in the project, stacking the bales of straw (Figure 3). Just like Lego we stack the bales making sure they were off set and square on the corners.

Once the bales were stacked and square, we then wrapped the entire wall structure with a plastic netting. The netting was then stitched to the straw bales walls using regular bailing twin and specially made 2 foot needles (Figures 4 & 5).

After many long hours of stitching the walls and squaring the structure it was now time for coating the walls with plaster. We used a type of masonry cement mixture that added to the strength of walls and protects the straw bales from the elements (Figure 6).

With the walls in place and reinforced with cement, we finished off the project with the finishing touches, adding the roof, windows and porch (Figure 7). One of the largest benefits of the straw bale cabin is the R value; the 17 inch wide walls filled with straw are very well insulated and the cabin takes very little energy to keep heated. Overall this project was a lot of work but was a rewarding initiative in the end.

Figure 6

Figure 7