I’ve been trying to figure out what sustainable building is – what kind of buildings are we making that we can say are sustainable for the next few hundred years, at least? I’ve traveled across North America meeting with builders and homeowners, and when I have time I write about superinsulation and air sealing, small homes, passive solar homes, natural building, eco-communities, and other things I’ve learned along the way.

Other posts on this website are based on my roughly eight years experience working in straw bale construction and plastering with Camel’s Back Construction. Here I offer lots of technical information about some aspects of natural building, including straw bale construction details, and working with natural plasters.

As a bonus feature I’ll share some of what I learned while building a simple, load-bearing, earth-plastered, 12’x16′ cabin. When I built this I wanted to test some techniques and building styles that I haven’t had a chance to try before, such as dipped bales and earth floor.

This website was first published in October 2012.

About Michael Henry

I’m a natural builder, freelance writer and educator, and author of Ontario’s Old-Growth Forests. I have been studying, writing about, and working actively to address problems related to our environment since the 1990’s.

Since 2004 I’ve been working as a natural builder and plasterer with Camel’s Back Construction, Straworks, and as an independent plaster artisan. I also work as an occasional instructor at The Endeavour Centre in Peterborough Ontario.

I am co-author with Tina Therrien of the book Essential Natural Plasters. This was our effort to make the detailed, thorough plaster book we always wanted, with loads of practical info about materials and techniques, and natural plaster recipes contributed by a number of professional natural builders.