Resources

Web Resources
attra.ncat.org: ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. It provides information and other technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators, and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States.
www.kachelofen-usa.com: A website that sella ceramic tiled woodstoves which creates a low intensity, radiant heat. Kachelöfen have been developing for over two thousand years in Europe and are famous for creating a healthy, relaxing living enviroment with no pollution and no dangers of chimney fires, as well as being admired for their artisic beauty.
www.hvnb.net: Based in urban Albany, NY, Hudson Valley Natural Building (HVNB) is a community-based artisan company that specializes in timber framing, straw bale, natural finishes, and education.
www.aprovecho.net: Aprovecho is a non-profit research and education center located outside of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Our 40 acre rural campus is the classroom for our ongoing educational programs.
www.cat.org.uk: The Center for Alternative Technologies address every aspect of the average lifestyle - the key areas we work in are renewable energy, environmental building, energy efficiency, organic growing and alternative sewage systems.
www.solardevelopment.com:The company lays claim to the title of the oldest and largest catalog firm devoted to the sale and service of renewable energy products in the world. Real Goods is still devoted to the same principles that guided its founding—quality, innovative, well-made products for fair prices, and unsurpassed customer service with courtesy and dignity.
www.sci.org: The site for the Institute for Scientific Research.

Book Resources

Excellent text for architectural theory and design

offers a practical language for building and planning based on natural considerations. The reader is given an overview of some 250 patterns that are the units of this language, each consisting of a design problem, discussion, illustration, and solution.

The essence of his four-volume work is this: that the universe is not made of "things," but of patterns, of complex, interactive geometries. Furthermore, this way of understanding the world can unlock marvelous secrets of nature, and perhaps even make possible a renaissance of human-scale design and technology.

Blending philosophy and science, McHarg shows how humans can copy nature's examples to design and build better structures.

In conclusion, as urban planners and engineeers increasingly look to nature as a basis for product and community design, this book will form the cornerstone for these endeavors.

This book gives you all the facts you need about straw bale houses.

"Becky Bee's Cob Builder's Handbook" is well written in plain, understandable language which even the most basic beginners can clearly understand.

About the philosophy and practice of building with cob

Contains innovative designs and techniques for building your own house.

A book which talks about how to build thigns using straw bale and has great illustrations.

This informative, innovative handbook sets forth a strategy for constructing adaptive buildings that incorporates a conservationist approach to design, use of traditional materials, attention to local vernacular styles and budgeting to allow for continuous adjustment and maintenance.