The self-build solution Print E-mail
Written by Woman's World, 2008   
Page 1 of 2

It seems that women are taking the initiative when it comes to building eco-friendly homes.

Thinking pink... and sustainable

Rachel Whitehead's straw bale house in Wales won the Grand Designs Best Eco Home category this year. The pink house known as Penwhilwr, which is Welsh for watchtower, is the first two-storey load-bearing straw bale house in the UK and only the second in Europe, and was part-financed by a green mortgage from Ecology Building Society.

The planning for the house began in 1996, when Rachel bought the woodland in which her home sits for £5,000. Planning permission took a couple of years to obtain, but with the help of friends and volunteers, Rachel went on to 'sculpt' the house by hand, securing additional funding for the remaining works and the installation of the renewable energy systems.

The sustainable house incorporates photovoltaic cells, solar thermal panels, a wind turbine, rainwater harvesting, an Aquatron sewage composting system and biomass heating, using wood coppiced from her woodland. Rachel now teaches green building techniques.

Visit www.ecology.co.uk

Living in a wildlife park

Anna Ryder Richardson appeared alongside designers such as Linda Barker and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen in the television series Changing Rooms and subsequently in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

After purchasing Manor House wildlife park in Tenby, West Wales, with the intention of refurbishing it, she decided her family would live on site during the work and for that they needed an environmentally friendly log cabin.

The cabins are available in a range of designs or can be made to order. A Channel 4 programme about Anna's zoo adventure is to be broadcast in September.

Visit www.finestamlogcabins.co.uk

Holiday house of straw

East Yorkshire farmer's wife Carol Atkinson spent 20 years as an accountant before following her heart and studying for the MSc in Architecture, Advanced Energy & Environmental Studies that fuelled her ambition to build a house of straw.

Her vision was to build a unique eco house that she could offer as a holiday let whilst she used a study of its thermal properties for her thesis.

Constructed on a chassis to satisfy the planners, the environmentally friendly holiday home is made from 96 full and 45 half bales of local wheat straw and took eight months to complete.

Overlooking a lake on farmland in the village of Brind, near Howden, the finished house is equipped with sheep fleece under-floor insulation, solar panels, a micro-wind turbine and wooden roof shingles to complement the green credentials of its building materials.

Forty-five-year-old Carol explains: "Straw bales are a fantastic natural building material. They provide a high level of insulation that can significantly reduce the energy needed to heat or cool a building.

When combined with plaster on both sides, straw bale walls are fireproof, vermin-proof and airtight. The internal clay plaster moderates heat and humidity to provide a healthy, stable indoor environment, whilst the exterior lime render protects the home from the elements."

Encouraged by the experience of her first build, Carol has started work on a more ambitious project - a two bedroom, one-and-a-half storey permanent holiday home that has been designed by a leading eco architect and will be furnished with reclaimed wood and vintage fabrics - and is offering practical and theoretical training courses for architects and other professionals, builders and those considering self build. She is also happy to spread the word as a speaker to WIs.

For more information about the courses call Carol Atkinson on 01430 410662 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Home is where the heart is

We asked you to let us know about your unusual homes and four members got in touch. Interestingly, two have taken to the waterways where home is now a narrowboat and two are living in idyllic historic properties. Here's what they have to say

Best of both worlds

"In October 2004, my husband Paul and I, together with our two Shelties, Kory and Kyle ('The Boys'), fulfilled a long-held dream of moving to live aboard a 58ft narrowboat.  Our intention was to cruise the full inland waterways system. We spend the winter at Crick, Northamptonshire where I recently joined Yelvertoft WI, and we spend the six months from April through to October cruising.
 
We keep in touch with friends via a monthly email or snail-mail newsletter called Watsons' Waterways Wanderings and I keep a detailed daily log, complete with photos and weather summaries.
 
Yelvertoft WI is a very active and forward-looking group. They are very friendly and welcoming and the members all seem interested in our exploits. In addition to the WI, I am actively involved in everything from choir to patchwork and quilting.  We spend six months cruising the waterways in Lady Celine and for six months we're involved in 'land based' activities - we have the very best of both worlds!"

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