About amazonails
amazonails is the leading UK comapny in strawbale building. We have been involved in the construction of over 100 buildings over the last 12 years.
As a unique organisation in the UK we want to let you know what sort of experience you'll have if you work with us. These are some things we think make us different!
amazonails is a not-for-profit social enterprise, registered as an Industrial & Provident Society in March 2007; offering Design, Consultancy, Training & Support in Strawbale building & other sustainable building techniques to Self-builders, Architects, Schools, Community Groups and the Construction industry, as well as illustrated presentations to professionals, Academic institutions & Community Groups alike. We have been developing techniques and simplifying practice in strawbale building since 1994, and are acknowledged internationally for our breadth of experience.
amazonails' aim is to encourage everyone to become involved in the construction process through the use of straightforward practical teaching methods: particularly those who have traditionally been denied access to construction, such as women, younger and older people-at least 50% of course participants are women. We also aim to inform and educate the wider industry about the benefits of using sustainable, thermally efficient, natural materials that allow buildings to breathe and create a healthy rather than toxic living environment.
We are at the cutting edge of design, having pioneered several types of low-impact foundations through the Building Regulation system in the UK, specialising in designs that use no cement, are self-draining and require no intrusive trenches into the earth: making them accessible to all.
We have acted as consultants to clients such as the Ecology Building Society and the National Trust, and have built the first semi-detached strawbale houses in the UK.
You may also have heard about our work with North Kestevan Council to provide strawbale social housing - showing that high standard sustainable housing can be built for £75,000 per house by using strwbales.
What is special about amazonails?
Opening up building sites
A place for everyone
Opening up building sites
Our building sites usually include a large number of volunteers; together with local contractors who would generally all be on site at the same time. By working with volunteers we are able to educate a much wider audience than if we operated a traditional contractor built site. Many volunteers come to work with us specifically to gain the skills and knowledge required to be able to build their own houses using environmentally friendly techniques and sustainable materials. Employers or community groups send some volunteers in order to learn skills they can then pass on to others. Often people have a building project in mind that they are working towards. Some come because they particularly want to learn skills as part of a group, or because they want to change their lifestyle, or have worked with us before and love the excitement of it all.
As part of our aim to educate and disseminate ideas about a different way of working, and about appropriate methods of building and use of materials, we encourage site visits by interested people and groups from as diverse a spectrum as possible. This can often be a wonderfully inspiring initiation into a more common-sense sort of building. Visitors can see at first hand our use of sustainable materials, an inclusive process of building, sometimes labour intensive but low-cost methods, respect for the environment, and commitment to low-impact building practice. They can also begin to understand how they themselves could be part of this process by beginning to introduce these ideas into their lives and by becoming a volunteer. They can also appreciate that we do all this without compromising on quality, or costing the earth (financially or ethically), and that we very often achieve stunning levels of beauty at the same time.
A place for everyone
The atmosphere on our building sites is qualitatively different to that found on the majority of other building sites elsewhere. This is not by chance. We deliberately encourage a feeling of being part of a group, of all working together to achieve a common aim. Each person’s past experience and level of skill is valued and appreciated; we know that for most people this is their first experience of construction, and it may well be quite daunting.
Our experience has shown us that everybody has a valuable contribution to make to the work in hand, and often this can go unrecognised by the individuals themselves. We see part of our work to be in acknowledging the skills that each person already has, which may be drawn from what appear to be completely unrelated areas of life. This may be a flair for flower-arranging for instance, as having a good eye for detail and aesthetics is essential for quality control on any project. It may be skills in hairdressing, which can mean good observational skills and hand to eye coordination, or office and managerial based skills - problem solving and lateral thinking is of huge importance to a successful building project, and the ability to keep a site tidy and in order is essential for health and safety and the well-being of the whole group.
Liberate the imagination
Our approach is one of integration and wholeness, to move away from the limiting stereotypes of the 20th century building site, and to liberate the imagination of each person, to expand their perception of themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of. A building site doesn’t have to be intimidating, or competitive and macho, all attributes associated with ‘modern’ building practice. Through our method of teaching we positively encourage the recognition of other skills such as the ability to organise, communicate, and share feelings, perceptions and ideas; all necessary on a building site.
Transformation
Using tools for the first time can often present a big barrier for people, but once their initial nervousness and unfamiliarity has been overcome, their own natural skill can develop, and it can be a tremendously empowering experience to wield a hammer effectively for the first time. We teach the safe use of tools on site, and how to use the whole body to do a task, integrating hand skills with body stance, observation, thought and feeling. We encourage an atmosphere of learning and sharing, so each person is not only learning new skills themselves, but also can share this new-found knowledge with others. As trainers, we also learn a lot from each group we work with. In this atmosphere, quite amazing transformations can take place. People become empowered, and this means not only on the building site, but within their own life and relationships as well. They become more effective people.
Our building sites are happy places. People are well motivated, look out for each other, share experience, and have fun. Inevitably this means that we achieve a lot, health and safety is excellent, and the quality of our work is high.
We have worked in different parts of the globe, but predominantly in the UK and Ireland helping create warm, safe, energy efficient, affordable and often beautiful buildings - with self-builders, community groups or mainstream contractors. And have had the privilege of having been involved in the design and/or build of over 50 strawbale buildings.
See our courses page for details of current projects and training opportunities.
Together with renewable energy, good design and the use of natural, local and renewable materials, we can all be part of reshaping the future of our planet - a more positive, more balanced and carbon neutral future. The UK’s annual surplus of straw could build over 250,000 superinsulated, 3 bedroomed homes a year.