Local residents share insights about building with straw

The Chadron Public Library hosted “Straw Bale and Natural Building Construction,” Saturday, presented by local residents Gus Passero and Shawn Marie Dellinger.
The event was about building homes out of straw bales and other materials that cost less.
Passero and Dellinger showed a PowerPoint of them building their straw bale homes, their experience, and showing what materials they used, while building. Passero said that building straw bale homes are “easier doing it yourself.”
The straw bale house that Passero built and resides in contains two floors and a radiant heat system built under the floor.
“We don’t know what we’re capable of, until we dive in,” Passero said.
Dellinger’s straw bale home is a small, one-story house with a wood stove and received help from Passero.
Other than having a cheap price, the reason why they use straw bales is because it is a waste product and it is locally owned.
The one unique factor of these straw bale homes is that they are fire resistant. The reason why they are fire resistant is because there is no oxygen within the straw bales and the walls are covered by cob. Cob is a mixture of straw and 25 percent of clay that Passero and Dellinger replace regular cement with. Passero said it is inexpensive, or even free, and that building a straw bale home would not work without it.
Passero used cob for both inside and outside of his home, which took him about two weeks to finish. Dellinger, on the other hand, used cob for only the outside, which took her one day to finish.
Despite being easy to build, Passero said that a bad building decision could lead to disaster.
Passero and Dellinger presented this info to give the audience an idea of alternatives when building a home. Passero said it is suitable in 90 percent of America, depending on what part you live in.