We were in the final phases of the Save the Children office, getting ready to return home, when a group of women living on the outskirts of Obregon requested that we talk to the people in their area about building with straw bales.  We postponed our departure, and that weekend agreed to talk with their local community.  There was an enthusiastic response to our talk, but, near the conclusion, someone said, “Good, but who is going to show us how to do it.  Won’t you please help us?” Unable to say no, we began construction on a small 200 square foot dwelling the following day.   

Save the Children provided the straw bales and their trailer. We collected discarded pieces of concrete for the foundation, screened sand from the adjoining arroyo, and the city provided dump truck loads of discarded clay. Carbide lime for the exterior plaster was dug for free from Obregon’s acetylene gas plant.

Of course, no one had any money, so we reached into our already depleted pockets and paid for that building. The ensuing project became known as Casas que Cantan and evolved into an effort where a dozen women helped build one another’s houses. Word spread through the international community of straw bale builders about this project, and we started receiving donations to finance more houses in the amount of $500 each. The response was unbelievable. Money came from around the world.

Considering the minimal investment, these were truly amazing shelters, especially when one realizes that these women were living with their families in sweltering shacks pieced together from scraps of anything that could be found in the local dump.  In a climate where temperatures can rise to 120 degrees F, living in these shacks was nothing short of torture. Dehydration and bronchial ailments were commonplace.

Catering to the local aesthetic preference, all the houses had fairly flat roofs, most with lime-plastered straw-clay. Most met their demise when, a few years later, a major hurricane dropped 10 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. Those with corrugated metal roofing faired much better.