Straw Bale Construction 

 

Background: 

• Straw bale building has been around for about 100 years, originating in Nebraska in the USA. 

• Straw bale building is easy to construct and suitable to use with unskilled labour of all ages and genders. 

• Straw bales are an annually renewable agricultural waste product that is often wasted or burnt by farmers. 

 

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Technical information: 

• Straw bales are dry packed either as in-fill between structural frames or as load bearing walls where a ring beam plate is tied to the foundations. 

• Straw bales are stabilized with horizontal & vertical timber saplings and finished with clay and lime plasters. 

 

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Benefits: 

• Straw bales walls have phenomenal acoustic and thermal properties, resulting in a very high level of human comfort, way superior to any other building material available. 

• As the straw is too tightly packed to support combustion and due to its high insulation properties (R value = R6 to R7), a plastered straw bale wall is exceptionally fire-proof. 

• Straw bales are an abundant agricultural bi-product and South Africa currently grows enough straw to provide enough material for 1 million homes every year – more than double the countries present capacity! 

• Straw bales are inexpensive to buy as well as dispose of as all waste can be mulched for landscaping purposes. 

• Building with bales is relatively easy to learn and lends itself to self-builders and community involvement. 

 

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Company track record/examples of work: 

• House Rissik, Prince Albert, Karoo, 2023-2024 

• House Mendel – Hout Bay, Cape Town, Cape Town, 2021 

• House Patience - Greyton, Workshop, Western Cape, 2019 

• House Larsen – Workshop, Hilton, KZN, 2014 and 2019 

• House Botes, Agte Paarl, Western Cape, 2014 

• Smith’s Guest House - Workshop, Napier 2013   

• Green Kruger Lodge - Workshop, Marloth Park, Crocodile Bridge, Mpumalanga 2013  

• Orphanage at Village of Hope - workshop, Grabou, Western Cape, 2013 

• Starflower Project house & conference/training facility – consulting and workshops, Midrand, Gauteng, 2012 

• OR Tambo Narrative & Environmental Centre - Consulting, Leeupan, Johannesburg, 2010 – 2012 

• House Morris - Barrydale, the Karoo, 2008  

• House Lula - consulting, Gauteng, 2008 

• Upgrade of Nieuwoudtville Caravan Park, Namaqualand, 2004-2007 (Won Silver 2005 in the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction in the Africa Middle East region) 

• Wolvekloof Academy consulting & workshop, Ceres, Western Cape, 2006 

• Stanford Valley Conference Centre - workshop, Western Cape, 2006  

• House McConnel - Betty’s Bay, Western Cape, 2005 

• Gary’s Barn -Oude Molen Village, Cape Town, 2005 

• House Brodie - Scarbourgh, Western Cape, 2003 

• House Patience - Greyton, Western Cape, 2002 

• House Salters - Teslaarsdal, Western Cape, 1999 

• House Prinsloo - Elands Bay, Cape West Coast,1998