Welcome

Living Environmentally Together Sustainably

Cozy, Conscientious Construction

About Us

Upcoming Work/Learning Opportunities

Strawbale Stacking and Plastering Workshops

on small house in Twin Lakes, between Leadville and Buena Vista, Colorado

When: Ongoing help needed! Plaster, floor install.

When: June 2024

rain or shine, . . . but not too much snow!

What: Building a small straw bale micro cottage, 9’ x 12.5’,

using the most simple and cost saving materials and

techniques. Load-bearing straw bale walls will be

built: assembling the bottom plate, setting door &

window rough frames, stacking & pinning bales,

assembling the roof plate, setting roof rafters and

attaching sheathing; plus, as time permits,

plastering the walls (interior & exterior).

Where: Twin Lakes - between Leadville & Buena Vista,

at an elevation of 9,200 feet, nestled in a little historic

village, surrounded by 14ers, and near the two

Twin Lakes.

There are two other straw bale buildings on our

building site: a small (finished) bunk house, and our

main cabin (unfinished).

Accommodations: We will provide all meals. There are some

sleeping places in our bunk house, shared among

four to five people; camping in our backyard or in

the National Forest; in town, there are the Twin

Lakes Inn ($90-110/night), cabins ($130), and several

AirBnB houses.

Contact: Jan Morzel & Amy Haywood, (c) 303 877-5452,

janmorzel@gmail.com

We can only accommodate six - eight

people on our building site. There is room for several tents.

Where: Small house (700 sqft) in village of Twin Lakes (elev. 9,200), located between Leadville and Buena Vista.

Contact: Amy and Jan, janmorzel@gmail.com. and look under construction gallery photos for more information.

No Charge! We request that you commit to a minimum of two full days.

Accomodations: It is up to you to find your own room and board. There are two inns in town, and various AirBnB. Also, you can stay at nearby campgrounds and ample dispersed camping in the area. Aug. 20 is the day of the Leadville 100 foot race, and Sept. 5 is Labor Day Weekend, so availability might be scarce. Let us know of your dates and interest and we can try to go snag a website or we can have several tents on our property. Let us know.

What We Do

Using what the earth has to offer we build using sustainable materials dwellings that are well insulated, non-toxic, beautiful and more affordable. Every effort to reuse materials such as windows, sinks, tubs, wood, fallen trees, dirt/clay onsite site, wood stoves, furniture and more, make the projects more ecological and affordable.

Why

Working with natural earth materials to produce beautiful and functional dwellings that folks can afford to invest in while providing jobs and natural building education simultaneously.

Who

Jan Morzel built the first adobe house in the last 80's. He worked in New Mexico at the Ghost Ranch building adobe cabins and studying how construction variations affected temperature fluctuations. He built a straw bale/ adobe house with four interior arches in his backyard in Boulder. Popped the top addition on his ranch home in Boulder. These dwellings were chosen for the Boulder solar and small house tour. Recently he renovated a dilapidated miners shack and is currently working on a straw bale cabin in Twin Lakes.

Site Content

Mud Haus Studio

Stucco'ed Ranch Pop-up

A small adobe/straw bale accessory dwelling in Boulder. Structural framing and walls made with adobe blocks enveloped with strawbales for insulation.

(See construction gallery for photos.)

Stucco'ed Ranch Pop-up

Atrium, and 1000 square foot second story accessory dwelling apartment on top of existing ranch home. This home houses three families in individual apartments while presenting itself as a single family home.

(See construction gallery for photos.)

Shack Renovation with Straw Bales and Mud (The Funky Bunky)

Rebuilding an existing shack on a small property in the mountain village of Twin Lakes, Co by building a foundation, lining the interior with straw bales, a mud floor and plastering from the incredible clay soil located on site. This old miners shack was not one of the historic log cabins from the 1800's. It's location on the property was in keeping with the traditional setbacks (right on the dirt road) and it's shape and dimension fits right into the village.

(See construction gallery for photos.)

Twin Lakes Straw Bale Cabin (in progress)

Shack Renovation with Straw Bales and Mud (The Funky Bunky)

Construction of a straw bale cabin on a third acre lot in the town of Twin Lakes, at the base of Independence Pass. This is the main cabin adjacent to the "Funky Bunny". Well, septic, leech field and site design were installed and approved summer of 2021.

(See construction gallery for photos.)

Welcome

Living Environmentally Together Sustainably

About Us

Upcoming Work/Learning Opportunities

What We Do

Why

Who

Site Content

Mud Haus Studio

Stucco'ed Ranch Pop-up

Stucco'ed Ranch Pop-up

Stucco'ed Ranch Pop-up

Stucco'ed Ranch Pop-up

Stucco'ed Ranch Pop-up

Shack Renovation with Straw Bales and Mud (The Funky Bunky)

Shack Renovation with Straw Bales and Mud (The Funky Bunky)

Shack Renovation with Straw Bales and Mud (The Funky Bunky)

Twin Lakes Straw Bale Cabin (in progress)

Shack Renovation with Straw Bales and Mud (The Funky Bunky)

Shack Renovation with Straw Bales and Mud (The Funky Bunky)

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