Ron & Debbie Renkema, in Norland Ontario are progressign with their straw bale cottage. The cottage was built by Gord Bartley & Son and the straw bale and plaster work were done by Deirdre McGahern with Straworks. Next comes the finishing touches.

With the guidance of James, Mark and Kevin from Tapial Homes, the Fleming sustainable building students have completed the rammed earth walls as part of the foundation for the log & straw building they are building for the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve. Rammed earth is a method of building beautiful and incredibly strong and durable walls using dirt (actually a very specific blend of porperly sized aggregates), clay a tiny percentage of cement binder and varying leve