Initial Project Idea

Raising Bale was conceived in early 2002 by the Center for Sustainable Living's Natural Building Group, which then proposed the idea to Habitat For Humanity. The Natural Building Group encourages sustainable building design and the use of healthy, affordable materials and techniques.

Reasons for the Project

Many contend that we can no longer ignore the impact humans are having on the earth's ecosystems. Increasing evidence shows that the choices we make about what we need and about how to fill those needs are threatening the health and survival of life on our planet. One of the most important choices we can make is how we build our homes and places of business in our local communities. Our collective choices strongly influence the amount of pollution we produce and how we use our renewable and non-renewable resources.

Community Involvement

The straw bale project combines an environmentally-friendly design with a strong community service ethic - meeting Habitat for Humanity's mission to construct simple, decent and affordable houses for qualified homeowners - sold at no profit and with no interest payments.

Construction of the house enabled people in the local community to learn more about sustainable architecture and to build a project that will provide needed affordable housing in Bloomington. We hope that the project will stimulate economically and ecologically sustainable building in Monroe County in the future.

Jointly sponsored by:

The Center for Sustainable Living - http://www.bloomington.in.us/~csl/index.html

Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County - http://www.bloomington.in.us/~habitat/

Bloomingfoods Market and Deli - http://www.bloomingfoods.coop

Harmony School - http://www.harmonyschool.org/