Today we settled the purchase of our 10-acre block of land in the township of Franklin in the Houn Valley region of Tasmania! After driving over 2500 kilometers and viewing more than 50 sites around Tasmania in 2 weeks, we came back to choose the very first site we saw. Franklin is a magical place to be, build, and feel inspired - now the real work begins...

2 weeks have passed and we have had a great beginning to our adventure in the “Land Down Under.” After attending another straw bale workshop in Beaufort, Victoria, we drove to the southern coast of Victoria. Spent time in Melbourne looking to various building suppliers. Here’s the photos!
Next stop? Tasmania to look at land...

Well Summer has passed and Fall begins. Graham, Mocha and I spent the summer in Truckee, California working for Bill and Darcey Donovan on their straw bale house. Crazy, but it was our third time!!! I guess we didn’t get enough. Actually it was great to help them again, more to learn!
Soon after the first snow came, we knew it was time to flee.
We returned to Redwood Valley, CA, then spent a week near Toronto, Canada for the 2006 International Straw Bale Conference. A quick peek at Niagara Falls and now our next stop is Australia and Tasmania... the adventure continues!

Troy and Graham, accompanied by Darcey Donovan spent 28 days in Pakistan, particularly in the Mansehra region, working in the small village of Jabori. There we constructed a straw bale building for earthquake relief. Pakistan Straw bale Project.

After our work in Pakistan, Troy and Graham were able to “stop-over” in London for a week. It was a real treat! Perfect weather for sight seeing and visiting good friends. Did we have “tea and crumpets” with the Queen?