Environmental Engineering Reference
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of the whole movement in its caricature of the simplicity associated with
straw and farms and the radical activist's disgust with the status quo estab-
lishment: “The moral of the Three Little Pigs in not that you shouldn't
build your house out of straw, it's that you shouldn't have let a pig build
your house.”
The community ethos that surrounds straw-bale building in terms of the
romance of the wall raising is one that is socially constructed as a part of
the movement. It could be otherwise, and indeed it may become otherwise
if the movement succeeds in moving completely into the mainstream. Such
an ethos existed for timber houses before Levittown. They, too, were
regarded as a mode of building capable of expressing individual empower-
ment in that anyone who could pick up a hammer and saw could build
their own shelter. That changed as industrialization took up the laboring
hours of the homeowner. So, too, did the organization of the building
industry into the generator of mass-produced houses, even though they
used the same technology that the builder of a single home had used.The
message is not in the technique alone but in what people do with it. As
codes make straw-bale building available to more mainstream builders and
buildings, the potential for commodification of straw-bale building appears
on the horizon.This perspective is also expressed by Myhrman, who depicts
himself as a closet “Struddite” (a contraction of “straw” and “Luddite”):
The traditional load bearing technique was created primarily by cash-poor,
unregulated owner-builders in an environment that offered few options for afford-
able building materials, and those in a limited variety of forms. Now, in a very dif-
ferent materials and regulatory environment, the techniques are being tested,
engineered and modified by “professionals.”As a potential benefit of this effort, they
see being able to build for others with less regulatory hassle, with fewer “callbacks,”
in less time, and perhaps, with less materials.
Hidden within this potential benefit, however, lies a potential danger—the
“commercialization” and “professionalization” of the technique in a way that dis-
courages, marginalizes or “handcuffs” the prospective owner-builder (be they male
or female, groups or individuals). ...I want to make it clear that I see no evil con-
spiracy by the “professionals” within the straw-bale revival to “take it over.” Like the
rest of us in the revival, they gratefully acknowledge our debt to the Sand Hills
homesteaders. They are innovating creatively within the load bearing realm, and
will undoubtedly continue to make contributions that will benefit the revival in
general. ...I will probably use some of these innovations myself. But deep down
inside I will continue to be greatly nourished by stories like that of the Scott fam-
ily [who moved into their house as soon as the roof, doors, and windows were on
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