A Round House of Straw Bales

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The completed house of straw bales on a winter day, hung with icicles.
The completed house of straw bales on a winter day, hung with icicles.
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Closed doorway of the straw house, with decorative horseshoe nearby.
Closed doorway of the straw house, with decorative horseshoe nearby.
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Detail of the notched cuts in the ends of the frame poles and roof poles to facilitate their joining.
Detail of the notched cuts in the ends of the frame poles and roof poles to facilitate their joining.
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The frame of the house, wired together for stability with scavenged barbed wire.
The frame of the house, wired together for stability with scavenged barbed wire.
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The straw bales can provide a makeshift platform during assembly of the frame.
The straw bales can provide a makeshift platform during assembly of the frame.
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The roof support poles fastened with each overlapping the next, leaving a central gap for the stove pipe.
The roof support poles fastened with each overlapping the next, leaving a central gap for the stove pipe.
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Method of separating a full bale into two half bales.
Method of separating a full bale into two half bales.
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The author sits between two windows inside his straw bale house on a straw bale bench.
The author sits between two windows inside his straw bale house on a straw bale bench.
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Method of bending a straw bale so that it follows the curve of the wall.
Method of bending a straw bale so that it follows the curve of the wall.
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View from above looking down of bales arranged around the framing poles.
View from above looking down of bales arranged around the framing poles.
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View from above looking down on the layers of material used in the roof.
View from above looking down on the layers of material used in the roof.
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Top: cardboard weatherstrip for the door; Middle: nail bent into U-shape and installed as door stop; Bottom: method of securing the windows.
Top: cardboard weatherstrip for the door; Middle: nail bent into U-shape and installed as door stop; Bottom: method of securing the windows.
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The author stands in the doorway of his house of straw.
The author stands in the doorway of his house of straw.
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A board laid over a window gap provides support for the next layer of straw bales.
A board laid over a window gap provides support for the next layer of straw bales.
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Detail of the ceiling with stovepipe inserted through the central hole.
Detail of the ceiling with stovepipe inserted through the central hole.
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Closeup of the ceiling with stovepipe surrounded by asbestos shield.
Closeup of the ceiling with stovepipe surrounded by asbestos shield.
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Wood stove for heat inside a circle of protective rocks.
Wood stove for heat inside a circle of protective rocks.

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle…. Our teepees were round like the- nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle… But the Wasichus [Whites] have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying….

–  Black Elk Speaks , p. 199-200

And they shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.  –Isaiah , 65:22

We figure it took two 40-man-hour weeks to build and cost us a total of $25 . . . and the pleasure of living in a round house that we put together with our own hands has verified Black Elk and Isaiah’s thoughts beyond words. Still, in words, we can lay out the recipe we followed . . . just in case you want to construct such a residence for yourself.

Our first step was to pick a spot, put in a stake and–with a 10-foot-long string attached to the post–draw a circle on the ground. (That’s a 63-foot circumference . . . we wanted some room. Even this beginning step was simpler and quicker than measuring and squaring the normal rectangle.

  • Published on Jan 1, 1973
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