Straw Bale Building with Ben Polley Monday April 2, 7:30pm Grassroots-Riverdale, 372 Danforth Avenue at Chester Ave.

Straw bale building speaks to a part of us that insists we should be able to build our own homes with our own hands. Straw bale houses can be easy and affordable to build, super energy efficient, environmentally friendly, attractive, and can be designed to match the builder’s personal space needs, aesthetics and budget. In this workshop, Ben will go through the basics of straw bale building, from building codes to personalized design to the group building process.

Ben Polley has owned and operated Harvest Homes (www.HarvestHomes.ca) since 2000. Since its inception, Harvest Homes has worked on over 20 straw bale homes, a hotel, summer homes, offices and commercial buildings in Canada and Central America. Ben is an advocate for the straw bale building movement, educating self-builders and construction industry professionals through seminars and hands-on workshops. He is Advisor and Instructor for Seventh Generation Community Projects, Everdale Environmental Learning Centre, and Pangea Partnership, the Ottawa-based NGO, which operates primarily in Nicaragua. As well, Ben is advisor to both Seventh Generation Community Projects and Everdale Environmental Learning Centre.

• Cost: $10 ($5 for students/seniors/unemployed).
• Pre-registration and payment is necessary to reserve a space.
• Please call Grassroots at 416-466-2841 or register at either Grassroots location.