Our building project
According to the UN Environment Programme, the global construction industry contributes 37% of the world's carbon emissions, the most of any sector of the global economy.
It's this fact that has driven our desire to build a home here in our valley in Borgo Monticole that pioneers what we believe can be a truly game-changing low-carbon building technique.
By choosing straw and timber as the primary materials, we are applying modern technology to centuries-old building techniques to create a house that stores carbon rather than releasing it, while withstanding seismic activity, wildfires, and climate-related risks.
More about the building
As viewers of season 4 of Help! We bought a village will know, the house is not just for us. While we will have a one-bedroom flat on the ground floor, most of the building is designed for guests, with open-plan space for olive oil tastings, cooking classes, and educational events on regenerative farming, and workspace for our food business.
Although we have secured EU funding to support the build, that funding only covers a percentage of the parts of the house destined for business use. The sooner we raise the funds, the sooner we can finish the build, open our doors to guests, and welcome you to experience our valley for yourself.
Why straw?
We’ve chosen EcoCocon straw panels — a construction system made entirely from straw and timber. They allow us to achieve a low carbon footprint compared to modern steel, cement and block-work structures. Ecococon straw panels are prefabricated for precision and assembled quickly with minimal waste. They combine excellent insulation with natural breathability, creating a comfortable home that stays cool in summer and warm in winter.
Unlike cement whose production emits large quantities of CO₂, the raw materials that make up our panels are simply wood and grass which produce oxygen! The straw and timber panels store carbon, locking away CO₂ absorbed in the form of the plant's cellulose fibre. In fact, EcoCocon panels store just under 100 kg CO₂e per m², sequestering more carbon than is emitted in production.
Although it may sound surprising, densely packed straw is highly fire-resistant when encased in plaster. This makes it a safe choice in our valley that is classed as high on the region's wildfire risk map. And, because our home is in a seismic area, we need flexibility: unlike brittle concrete or block-work, wood and straw can absorb a bit of movement, offering greater resilience to the shockwaves of an earthquake.
Once covered with wood fibre insulation board and natural clay plaster, our straw panelled house will have excellent thermal resistance and phase shift of up to 18 hours, protecting us from daytime heat and locking in cool nights without the use of energy-intensive air conditioning units. Solar panels and solar water heaters will provide our electricity and heat our water, supplemented in winter by a stove and boiler that runs on wood sourced from our 33 hectares of sustainably managed forest.
History
Our choice of materials is not just about sustainability — it’s also about continuity with the traditions of the valley. The house that currently stands here is built from mud and stone. By continuing to prioritise natural materials, we are following the historical example of many houses in our region. In fact, you can still find examples of straw and mud houses nearby, such the Villa Ficana quarter in Macerata and the 'Casa da terra' in Treia both carefully preserved as a pieces of rural architectural heritage.
If you're still worried about supporting a project building in straw, rest assured the system is tried and tested. Since 2013, about 500 EcoCocon buildings have been built in 25 different countries on 3 continents, storing nearly 6,500,000 kg of CO2e combined.
