Reducing Ecological Footprints In A House Of Hay

One man's Connecticut home has no electricity, heating, air-conditioning, running water, or even conventional walls. He's made a structure of hay and stucco his home for 20 years, and his meager lifestyle causes little or no harm to the environment.

1 minute read

June 24, 2006, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


Small-scale living is the way for David Brown of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He's spent 20 years living in a one room building made completely of hay and stucco, and has saved a fortune on electricity and gas costs. His lifestyle is generously aided by food donations from the local townspeople to feed the chickens on his organic farm. And while he admits that not everyone can live the way he does, he wishes they could.

"A highly efficient wood stove heats his home. He keeps his food chilled in a root cellar. Tiny amounts of propane power a reading lamp and a stove. He once had running water, but his well became silted, and he now fills jugs with water when visiting friends."

"The walls are hay bales 18 inches thick, providing massive insulation that helps the house, with its stucco exterior, retain heat in winter and repel it in summer."

Sunday, June 18, 2006 in The Hartford Courant via The Chicago Tribune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

3 hours ago - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Looking out at trees on 4th Street in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA’s Tree Emergency Goes Beyond Vandalism

After a vandal destroyed dozens of downtown LA trees, Mayor Karen Bass vowed to replace them. Days later, she slashed the city’s tree budget.

5 minutes ago - Torched

White and blue Sacramento regional transit bus with one bike on front bike rack.

Sacramento Leads Nation With Bus-Mounted Bike Lane Enforcement Cameras

The city is the first to use its bus-mounted traffic enforcement system to cite drivers who park or drive in bike lanes.

45 minutes ago - Streetsblog California

View of downtown Seattle with Space Needle and mountains in background

Seattle Voters Approve Social Housing Referendum

Voters approved a corporate tax to fund the city’s housing authority despite an opposition campaign funded by Amazon and Microsoft.

2 hours ago - Next City