Sister Jane Straw Bale House Talk
Schedule
Sun, 27 Apr, 2025 at 03:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
200 E Findlay St., Carey, OH, United States, Ohio 43316 | Carey, OH
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Sister Jane Omlor will speak at The Link Sunday April 27 at 3pm about the straw bale home she built in Tiffin. She will also speak about mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia.Sister Jane is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis community in Tiffin. Her straw bale story began in West Virginia, where she lived for 27 years. During this time she witnessed the effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on the land and on the local residents. She says this was a catalyst for her interest in straw bale construction, “That’s the reason I got into this – living among the poor in West Virginia and seeing the destruction of the mountains. It has damaged ecosystems and the lives of the people.”
Experiencing the effects of mining led Sister Jane to learn about more sustainable ways of building. In the late 90s, this interest coincided with a construction project in her community, “We needed to build a chapel but we didn’t have any money. After reading about straw bale we raised money, a bunch of volunteers came, and we put together a beautiful little chapel for less than $10,000. When I got back to Tiffin I got the bug and said, ‘Hey, let’s make a straw bale house in Tiffin.”
The Tiffin straw bale house, completed in 2013, is very different from the West Virginia chapel. While the chapel was a traditional bale building with plaster walls inside and out, the Tiffin home looks more like a typical contemporary house due to local building codes. The walls are insulated with straw bales, but they are not load bearing, and there is siding and drywall instead of plaster. Many energy saving features - such as triple pane windows - were used in construction. Solar panels and a small wind turbine were installed to provide power and as a result the home has never had an electric bill.
Omlor says the sisters are committed to peacemaking, care of creation, and concern for the poor, which are all guided by contemplation which precedes action. Care of creation is at the heart of her environmental work. She looks forward to sharing pictures, stories, and conversation during her talk at The Link.
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Where is it happening?
200 E Findlay St., Carey, OH, United States, Ohio 43316Event Location & Nearby Stays:
