The Home Place

A Sustainable Farming
Demonstration Center

STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION

At The Home Place, we encourage the use of sustainable building materials, some of which would otherwise be considered trash. We have two straw bale buildings on site and belong to the Straw Bale Association of Texas.

We initially became interested in straw bale construction through an article in National Geographic magazine.  Not long after that, we heard about a straw bale workshop in our area … and the rest, as they say, is history!

Clint Wilhelm working on a straw bale wall

 Clint Wilhelm working on the inside of the post and beam straw bale house at The Home Place.

After seeing how others made custom sized straw bales, Clint Wilhelm designed and constructed the press (photos below) which holds a bale under pressure while one or more workers retie it into custom sizes.

Hansen and Smith compressing a straw bale

Here Yvonne Hansen and Barbara Smith team up to make custom-sized bales.

Gratia compressing a straw bale

Kathy Gratia making a custom bale for her 4300 square-foot straw bale home near Bandera, Texas.

We actually began building our straw bale house in October of 1995, but the planning process began much earlier.  We spent a lot of time talking to other people involved with alternative construction and tracking down resources.   It is our hope that by sharing what we have learned (and continue to learn), we can help you spend less time searching for information and more time achieving your goals for sustainable farming.

|   The Home Place   |   Straw Bale   |   Rainwater   |   Rest and Relax   |   Links   |   Location   |   Contact Us   |

Web Site by Rajordan
Copyright © 1997 - 2004