Directory

Straw Works exists to point you in the right direction for information and services available within the natural building industry. There are some brilliant organisations and resources out there which you can find below.

Services:

Architecture and Design

As of July 2021, our Architectural Services will continue to be provided under the name ‘Wellspring Architecture Ltd.‘ Wellspring Architecture designs beautiful, healthy, zero-cement buildings made almost entirely from natural and recycled materials and built to last.

To learn more about Architectural services, or to discuss your design project,
please see: www.wellspringarchitecture.co.uk
OR get in touch with Matt at matt@wellspringarchitecture.co.uk

Consultancy

Consultations can be arranged over Skype, phone or in person. You send through any plans, sketches, maps, pictures and your questions in advance. Then, at the arranged time, Barbara will have everything in front of her and can answer your questions. Cost for consultancy is only £1 per minute and if you speak for 30 minutes you qualify for the first 10 minutes free (this offer is only available on the first consultancy), so for the first 30 minutes the rate would be just £20. This can also be done over the phone if you don’t have Skype.  If you wish to meet Barbara in person this can also be arranged.

If you are a self-builder looking for consultancy and mentoring, get in touch with Barbara at barbara@strawbuilding.org.uk. You can seek advice at any stage of the build, but it will save a lot of time, money and frustration to get advice at the beginning of the planning stage!

Prefabricated Construction

If you are looking to build with prefabricated straw panels, Barbara is a rep for EcoCocon and you can contact her to discuss using them in your project. Read more about the panels here.

Training

If you are looking to undertake training and gain skills in natural building, see The School of Natural Building. SNaB was founded by Barbara Jones and Eileen Sutherland in 2014 as a platform to offer practical and theoretical courses. Straw Works worked closely with SNaB over the years to deliver construction and training services on various self-build, community and commercial projects. To get in touch with SNaB about individual courses, or the full training programme, email eileen@schoolofnaturalbuilding.co.uk

Alternatively, Barbara Jones has joined forces with LILI (Low Impact Living Initiative) to create an online course. Based on Barbara’s ever-popular and recently updated book, Building with Straw Bales, the course features more than 200 minutes of clear and concise demonstration, explanation and instruction from Barbara herself. Also included are pdfs of diagrams and text to further illustrate the content. An absolute bargain at only £30! To access this amazing resource, click here.

Recomended Reading:

Green thinking

  • We take a holistic look at how natural building can benefit health and wellbeing here. The article is framed within the context of the Circular Economy and packed full of further reading suggestions
  • The Anthropocene Architecture school has a digital library with wide ranging reading suggestions on the climate emergency. Find them on Instagram @anthropocene.a.s.library
  • Green House is a think tank that aims to lead the development of green thinking in the UK. The site has various publications and reading lists
  • The Land is a magazine about land rights. It is written by and for people who believe that the roots of justice, freedom, social security and democracy lie not so much in access to money, or to the ballot box, as in access to land and its resources.
  • The Last Straw is ‘the alternative journal of design and construction for dirtbags and dreamers’. Founded in 1993, it is a platform to share and explore ideas of a better world through the lens of building methods and materials.

Materials