Rice Hulls as Insulation

Rice Hulls meet all the criteria of a Class I building insulation material.

They have a thermal resistance of about R-3 per inch. Unlike other forms of insulation, they are virtually fireproof, and they do not support insects, rodents, molds, mildew, or fungus.

Special Appreciation to Paul Olivier

Paul Olivier, a recycling engineer with a background in building straw bale buildings built the first modern house using rice hulls as insulation. He has written a great article about them. He also had some extensive mechanical engineering testing done on rice hulls, and has made the test results available to the public.

We are very grateful to Paul, his work, and his generous sharing of his wisdom. It is only by standing on his shoulders that we were able to have the vision to do our work in this field.

Come Build with Recycled Rice

Get hands on experience building with rice hulls.

Come do an internship at the HeartLand Aramaic Mission in Missouri.


Come Build an Earthbag Tipi with us on the Pine Ridge Reservation

Get hands on experience building with earthbags while helping those in need.

In conjunction with Nature's Compassion, we are planning on building an earthbag tipi and an Eco-dome on the Pine Ridge Reservation beginning June 14, 2009. Come join us.