I have stayed in yurts in the oregon state parks...made by Pacific Yurt company.foto here: http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/rustic.shtml

and this organization has built a straw bale house for a family with 6 kids who were one of the 200 homes lost in the fires we had in 2008. their crew consisted of both volunteers and people who paid to attend a workshops where they learned about the techniques of building straw bale houses. http://www.strawbuilding.org/pages/main.php?pageid=1