A friend of mine in Tucson built her own straw bale house, after a lot of research. She found a contractor to work with, but did most of the sub-contracting, with his advice, and hired herself to work on the crew so she could cut her expenses but also learn how to build it. She built it with the living, kitchen, bath, and bedroom area for herself and designed it with a suite - bedroom, bath, and sitting area with a private porch and parking area to do a bed and breakfast. Right after Sept. 11 it was difficult, but her business has built back up since then. It's a lovely house.

SRS