[GSBN] US strawbale farmworker housing

[ejgeorge at riseup.net]

Got it. Thanks Laura!

ej



Quoting "Laura Bartels" <laura at greenweaverinc.com>:

> ej,
>
> I presented both for USDA folks in Moab in connections with  
> Community Rebuilds (www.communityrebuilds.org) and in Murdo, SD who  
> both support and have been involved in funding sb projects. I will  
> send their contacts to you off list. I hope this will be helpful.
>
> Cheers,
> Laura
>
>
> Laura Bartels
> GreenWeaver Inc.
> 520 S. Third St., Suite 5
> Carbondale, CO 81623
> 970-379-6779
> www.greenweaverinc.com
>
>
>
>
>
> We've moved to the Third St. Center
> http://thirdstreetcenter.net/
> A community place promoting inspiration, sustainability and creative exchange
>
> On Jun 14, 2011, at 6:29 PM, ejgeorge at riseup.net wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> We are working with a local agency to help a farmer who wants to  
>> build a small  farmworker housing unit - potentially as a prototype  
>> for additional units. They are looking at funding via the USDA  
>> Rural Development program and recently received an email stating  
>> that while Rural Development has done a few straw bale houses  
>> previously, it is still considered "new technology". As such  the  
>> project requires additional review to support the suitability of  
>> the material.
>>
>> Much of this is standard info we provide for all our projects (ASTM  
>> standards for fire ratings, R-values, etc), but there was a new one  
>> for us:
>> "One concern that will need to be considered is how susceptible to  
>> insects/pests is this material."
>>
>> Has anyone on this list been involved with the straw bales that  
>> were already approved by the Rural Development program? We're  
>> wondering what sort of documentation others submitted on this  
>> point. It seems published information on this is largely anecdotal  
>> - even Bruce King's chapter on this is mostly theoretical with some  
>> field observations.
>>
>> Or anyone know of any studies or other data relating to this??
>>
>>
>> Thanks much!
>>
>> ej
>>
>>
>>
>> ej George, CSBA
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GSBN mailing list
>> GSBN at sustainablesources.com
>> http://sustainablesources.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/GSBN
>
>