Earth Pathways Showcase

In 2003, after being granted permission for a self sustainable build, I began to create a straw bale home. I hired Barbara Jones, a pioneering straw bale builder to help oversee the project, and she encouraged me to self-build it with her support. A local stonemason showed us how to work with lime, and with a group of women from the village, on our knees, bowing to the earth, we began to build the stone base for our home. We ran courses to raise the straw walls and to clay and lime plaster the house, and over three years hosted around two hundred volunteers there.

Many women joined in and it was an empowering experience to build with women alongside the men. There was often an intuitive way of working naturally and cooperatively together. Straw bale is a joyful and forgiving material to build with as well as being one of the most highly insulating and low impact materials available. It was to be the first two- storey loadbearing straw bale home in the UK. We found the curves and softness of the materials lent themselves to an ease and harmony in building and made it more accessible and attractive for children, women and older folk to join in.

On completion Penwhilwr ~ The Quiet Earth Eco Retreat ~ was created as a place for people to come and experience sustainable and conscious living. In 2008 it was voted by the public as Eco Home of the Year on Grand Designs; a testament for a house built with Love.

Straw Bale House Build © Rachel Shiamh