Andrew Morrison
Builder/teacher/consultant/workshop leader/motivational speaker/author
After receiving a degree in construction technology, I was shocked by the wasteful mentality pervasive in the field of construction. Determined to find a better way of building, I came across the technique of straw bale construction (using bales of straw for insulation in wall systems) and was hooked. A professional contractor, I specialized in straw bale homes and pioneered new techniques to optimize bale construction, making it more cost effective and available to the do it yourselfer. Passionate about teaching others how to build their own healthy, energy efficient, and cost effective home, my wife, Gabriella, and I created www.StrawBale.com in 2004. After personally having taught over 800 participants how to build their own houses in our week long workshops, I have seen firsthand the transformation that happens when people become empowered with the skill of building their own shelter. Now homesteading our own 5 acre patch of paradise, we are applying our construction experience into building our own tiny homes; one on stilts, one on a trailer, one in the trees, and one out of straw bales.
Gabriella Morrison
Webmaster/marketing director/videographer/producer/writer
Intrigued by the concept of shelter since my youth, details around how and where we as a species live have always been on the forefront. When I first read about the tiny house movement a few years ago I lit up because reflected before me was a way of life that I had been longing for. Simple, uncluttered, environmentally sane, affordable. Conscious living. On a quest to simplify our own lives we have been on a journey of stripping down and simplifying since. From getting rid of 90% of our belongings, to living in a pop up tent trailer in Baja with Andrew and our 11 year old daughter, to purchasing our own 5 acres to create our vision of off-grid tiny living, what we have been learning about human scale, material goods, needs, joy, freedom, and contentment has been life changing.
