Builders
Without Borders
is an international network of ecological builders who advocate the use
of straw, earth and other local, affordable materials in construction.
We believe that the solution to homelessness is not merely housing, but
individuals and communities trained to house themselves.
To this end, we organize and promote hands-on workshops and learning events, create educational books, CD-ROMs and videos. and partner with other organizations to build affordable sustainable housing. Since our inception in 1999, we have organized and supported projects from Mexico, to Israel, South Africa, Siberia, and Mongolia, and Native American land… (read more)
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The BWB Strawbale
Eco-house
Created for a summer 2008 exhibition in Washington D.C. the Builders Without Borders' Straw-bale Eco-house remained at the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) on the National Mall, through the fall and winter. In March 2009, the building was lifted with a crane and lowered onto a waiting trailer, which transported it to a location in nearby Maryland.
See the BWB Ecohouse video on YouTube
Read more about the BWB Ecohouse
The BWB Ecohouse has become part of a Breathwork Healing Center in Upper Marlboro,Maryland.
See up-to-date photos at: www.breathworkstudio.blogspot.com
Educational Resources Fund Builders Without Borders created a Strawbale Construction Curriculum, and donates this training manual, plus other books and videos, to worthy people and projects, and offers scholarships to BWB workshops for dedicated students.
Free consultation and educational materials have been provided to Navajo, Hopi, and Lakota tribes, as well as projects in Mexico, Mongolia, China, South Africa, Argentina, and Siberia. To help us continue this educational outreach, you can earmark a Donation to the BWB Educational Resources Fund.
Builders Without Borders is a project of NetWorks Productions, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible.
BWB members designed and led the hands-on construction of two
straw-bale demonstration buildings in the Altai region of southern Siberia. Read more.
Sustainable Rebuilding Solutions for Haiti:
A School for Haiti:
The BWB team is designing a school and cafeteria for the What If? Foundation. WIF has worked since 2001 with food and education programs for disadvantaged children in the Ti Plas Kazo community in Port-au-Prince.
Design Drawings
Floor Plans
WIF’s Project Campaign
Ti Kay Pay:
Builders Without Borders’ Haiti team, led by architect Martin Hammer and builder Andy Mueller, completed its first project in March 2011 in Port-au-Prince. BWB’s Ti Kay Pay (Small Straw House) is the first straw bale building in Haiti.
Donate
Project Overview
Design Drawings
Peace Corps Magazine Article
Project Progress Blog
Contact BWB-Haiti
Project Photo Gallery
Senp Kay:
GreenSpace Collaborative in partnership with Builders Without Borders’ Haiti team completed its second alternative structure in Port-au-Prince in February 2012.
The Senp Kay (Simple House) utilizes prefabricated, tilt-up, plastic bottle panels and light straw-clay walls. This modular wall design incorporates the structural integrity and efficiency of the tilt-up panel, the creative repurposing of plastic bottles, and the simplicity of light straw-clay infill.
Donate
Project Overview
Design Drawings
Contact GreenSpace Collaborative
Project Photo Gallery
