Skip to main content
Permaculture

Strawbale Dream Home

Building an Eco Home with Straw Bales & Traditional Timber Joinery

STRAWBALE DREAM HOME

Synopsis

This film follows the building of a beautiful eco home by wonderful owner builders Adam and Sian in Victoria, Australia. It’s a stunning traditional timber frame home combining timber joinery, strawbale and cob. And it radiates with the wholehearted love they poured into designing a sustainable home of their dreams, and then building it.

If you’ve been following us a while, you may recall that seven years ago we made a film about Adam and Sian’s first home, The Handmade House Truck. Their new forever home is even more special.

We shot this film sporadically over four years, which is a really long production run for us! Each time Jordan visited his homeland of Australia, he’d check in with Adam and Sian to catch up on the build. And the inevitable story that has developed around it.

That story included the birth of their first child alongside the unexpected death of a beloved family member. Both events weaving into the story of joy, heartache, community connection, frustration, and love that’s become as much part of the house’s structure as the straw and cob and timber.

Aside from the craftsmanship, beautiful aesthetics, and sheer naturalness of this building, we really love that it’s urban. You don’t get to see so many natural buildings in this setting. Perhaps seeing more eco homes like this created using natural building techniques will shine a light on the waste and toxic materials so prevalent today’s house construction.

This timber frame home serves as an inspiration in so many beautiful ways, as do its owner builders Adam and Sian!

This story was filmed on Gadubanud country in Victoria, Australia. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land and pay respects to Elders past, present, and emerging.

Other films you might like

The Handmade House Truck

In this film, we take a tour of Adam and Sian’s beautiful off-grid tiny house truck, which was built using mostly reclaimed materials on the back of a 1969 Bedford.

The Rubbish Trip

Hannah and Liam are our personal zero waste heroes – educators, advocates, and activists on a subject that is ultimately about so much more than waste.

Creatures of Place

Creatures of Place is an insight into the wonderful world of Artist as Family: Meg Ulman, Patrick Jones, and their youngest son, Woody.

Support our work

We’re able to release films for free due to the generous donations we receive from people like you.

Please consider joining us on Patreon to get access to exclusive content, full length interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage!

Support us on Patreon

You can also find other ways to donate on the Support page or check out our blog post on Community Supported Filmmaking to learn more.

Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to be notified about new film releases, behind-the-scenes news, and updates about all things Happen Films!

(We only send a newsletter out every 4–6 weeks.)

Share your thoughts about Strawbale Dream Home

  • Melodie Villiers says:

    Very interesting inspirational journey & film.
    Amazing craftmanship and skills.

  • >