<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br></div><div>Sidebar on bagasse, after Tim's comments:</div><div><br></div><div>Sugar cane is pretty high in silica, so the remnant stalks and fiber (bagasse) left over after you squish out the cane juice is a valuable feedstock. More than anyone I know of, the Cubans have developed a wonderful small scale industrial ecology around this: grow the cane, harvest the sugar, then burn the bagasse in small local kilns (ideally generating electricity), then grind the resulting ash to make a pozzolan. Mix the pozzolan and some bagasse fiber in a mold, press, and you have durable <a href="http://www.english.ecosur.org/blogcategory/MicroConcrete_Roof_tiles%252C_MCR/">roofing tiles</a> .</div><div><br></div><div>You may also want to check out the forthcoming <a href="http://www.ecosur.org/ecomat4/content/view/2/2/">Ecomaterials Conference</a> in Bayamo, Cuba (same people), which happens every four years. I went to the last one, and it was fantastic, but must miss this one as it straddles a major US holiday (Thanksgiving) and I can't be away.</div><div><br></div><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Thanks,</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Bruce King</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">(415) 987-7271</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">bruce-king.com </div></div></div></span></div></span> </div><br><div><div>On Feb 3, 2009, at 9:42 AM, Tim Owen-Kennedy wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">Happy solar and lunar new years everybody, <br><br>I've built with Hemp bales but neither corn nor Sugar. Though with regard to structure, thermal performance, and ease of construction I imagine they would be similar. I don't understand decomposition or spontaneous combustion enough to comment authoritatively, but in a few conversations I had at a conference with a delegation from Brazil they felt that there is very little food source or nitrogen left after the sugar cane is processed, and that the crushed, extracted, and dry culms would fold easily into bales. I believe they call the sugar cane waste Bagasse. I've heard of it's exploratory use in clothing, packaging, and both as ash and aggregate in concrete. The Brazilians seemed really eager to try out the bale building techniques but I see no sign of them on the web. Do we have a Brazilian contingent on this list?<br> <br>I personally believe that we need to diversify and localize our solutions as much as possible, for so many reasons.<br><br>thanks to you all for taking up the challenges in your way,<br><br>Tim<br><br><div class="gmail_quote"> On Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 7:51 AM, Mark Jensen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:markj@redfeather.org">markj@redfeather.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US"> <div><p>Greetings everybody,</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p>I was in a meeting yesterday with a man who would like to see sustainable housing in his home land of Kenya. He mentioned that they grow a lot of wheat and rice there, however he asked if I had heard of baling sugar cane or corn stalks. I have not heard of anybody doing this, but have any of you heard of this or have any thoughts of the plausibility of doing such. I'm thinking the culm might be just too big for a baler. I would love to hear your thoughts.</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p>Cheers,</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p>Mark Jensen</p><p>Construction Program Director</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p>Red Feather Development Group</p><p>PO Box 907</p><p>Bozeman, MT 59771-0907</p><p>T: (406)585-7188</p><p>F: (406)585-7187</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p><a href="mailto:markj@redfeather.org" target="_blank">markj@redfeather.org</a> <a href="http://www.redfeather.org/" target="_blank">www.redfeather.org</a></p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Webdings; color: green;">-</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: green;">Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: navy;"></span></p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <br>_______________________________________________<br> GSBN mailing list<br> <a href="mailto:GSBN@greenbuilder.com">GSBN@greenbuilder.com</a><br> <a href="http://greenbuilder.com/mailman/listinfo/GSBN" target="_blank">http://greenbuilder.com/mailman/listinfo/GSBN</a><br> <br></blockquote></div><br> _______________________________________________<br>GSBN mailing list<br><a href="mailto:GSBN@greenbuilder.com">GSBN@greenbuilder.com</a><br>http://greenbuilder.com/mailman/listinfo/GSBN<br></blockquote></div><br></body></html>