The Baleheart Project  A pilgrimage into the beating heart of the straw-bale construction revival by Judy Knox and Matts Myhrman Out On Bale, (un)Ltd 2509 N. Campbell Ave. #292 Tucson, AZ 85719 It is with great excitement and a deep bow to the straw-bale community around the world that we announce the Baleheart Project. Beginning this fall, we will spend the next year to two years traveling to various parts of the United States, Mexico, Canada, and hopefully Europe and other countries, conducting and documenting in-depth interviews with people who have chosen to build, live, work and worship within straw-bale walls. We will be traveling and collaborating with video producers Stacie and David Starr of Open Channel Communications, who will be integrally involved in all aspects of the Baleheart Project, as well as documenting our own pilgrimage. The four of us plan to share our findings in video and book form.
When we made our first Matts-and-Judy pilgrimage to the Sandhills of Nebraska in the late '80s, we went to see if any of the old, Nebraska style straw-bale buildings built by pioneers at the turn of the century were still standing and useful. We went with a simple, open-minded curiosity around what seemed to be such a simple, wonderful, natural way to build a home. At that time we could have never imagined that straw-bale construction would become a modern-day building choice for many people around the world, nor that it would touch people's lives in such transformational ways. The pioneers at the turn of the last century built with hay and straw out of necessity. In contrast, the modern straw-bale pioneers chose to build their homes with straw bales despite numerous options for how, where and with what materials to build. Resisting societal and institutional pressures, they persevered through the problem-solving challenges of skeptical code officials, mortgage lenders, insurance agents, as well as the great lack of precedent and information as to how they should build in their climate. We have felt enriched by the life-changing opportunity to interact with the great pioneering spirit and determination of these unsung champions of the straw-bale revival... the people all across the United States, Canada and beyond, in many different climates and circumstances, who chose to walk beyond the ordinary way of doing things and build, live and work with straw. We have long wanted to spend time with them, introduce them to each other, and, as an inspirational community of champions, to the world at large. We are eager to explore a number of questions with them. When we do collect the answers, we believe that we will begin to reveal the very beating heart of this straw-bale revival. We always have known that it is about so much more than building a house. It is also about the transformational experiences that people have in the course of working with one another, of seeing the world differently, of stepping out in a very pioneering way. We will not be surprised to discover that the people who made choices to build with straw have also made many other choices to express a more hopeful, a more connected, a fuller way of living. We are excited about journeying into the straw-bale community, and giving them an opportunity—through their own words and lives—to deeply answer the question: What is straw-bale construction in the fullest sense? We not only want to get to the heart of what it is as a building method, but as a vehicle for building community, and for transforming people into champions who help create a world we would most wish to live in. A project of Out On Bale, (un)Ltd.
2509 N. Campbell Avenue #292, Tucson, AZ 85719 - biwb@juno.com In collaboration with Open Channel Communications 2220 Camino Principal, Suite D. Tucson, AZ 85715 - azstarr@c2i2.com |