The night we arrived in Moab we also had a host dinner with an affordable housing group called Community Rebuilds. All the employees were young and very interesting to talk to. They were very passionate about their work and the cause they were supporting. Their group was much different than previous housing groups because they make homes made of straw and focus on environmentally friendly designs. The group gave us a presentation and tour of a straw house which we all found very interesting. The straw is covered by 2 outer layers of a clay solution. It is all co-products of the environment and the straw works as a great insulator. The windows in the homes are mostly on the south side of the house so that the sun can warm the floors during the cold winter months, but not heat the house in the hot summer. The floor is designed to heat the house using the sunlight in the winter as well. The bathroom walls were also very clever as they were covered with a soap olive oil mixture that smelled great and was meant to keep the walls water proof.
Kitchen of house.
Bathroom wall.
Outside of house.
So on Wednesday we had a build day but unfortunately not able to work on a straw house. Instead in the morning I worked on a demolition site of a trailer for a woman who was soon receiving a straw house. I worked on the outside stepping stones and deck and got to use a backhoe which was awesome.
Trailer in the morning.
Driving the backhoe.
After lunch we switched build sites and I worked in a house that was being prepared for 16 interns to move in. I wasn't able to see the demolition that took place in the afternoon but I heard that half the trailer was destroyed by the backhoe.
After building I went on another short hike to a pretty water hole.
During the hike.
Water hole.
A few other people were there and were walking across a high line attached to the rocks. They also did a few back flips into the water but I as too intimidated by the height.
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