Phil Gawne is MHK for Rushen, and IoM Minister of Infrastructure. He's also the proud owner of a straw-built extension to his Manx cottage at Lamode in the south of the Isle of Man.

* Straw bales make incredibly good insulation. They're also a highly robust building material - just as durable as brick built homes.

* Not only are straw bales fantastic ways to stop heat escaping from your home (saving energy and lowering heating bills), they're also carbon neutral, renewable and wholly sustainable.

* Phil's architect, James Hampton (pictured), has designed and built a beautiful timber frame into which ordinary straw bales have been placed to create the walls and roof. 

* The foundations were built from reclaimed Manx stone. 

* The straw will be sealed with locally sourced clay plaster and on the outside it'll also be clad with larch shiplap. 

* Inside there will be occasional glass panels, known as 'truth windows', through which you'll be able to see the straw.

* Modern straw construction methods, now tried and tested over several decades, mean that the house will be as robust and fire proof as any other.

* The cost of a straw bale house is comparable with the cost of building any other house. On occasion it may even be cheaper.


Further info:

Eco-build architect and builder James Hampton can be contacted by phone on 07624 434 044, or by e-mail at info@manninwood.com

To read ffinlo's September Green Column: Should we feel sorry for the Big Bad Wolf? - please click the link: www.ffinlo.org

More about straw bale homes at:
www.sustainablebuild.co.uk/ConstructionStrawBale.html

More about other eco-building materials can be found on the Centre for Alternative Technology website: www.cat.org.uk