2026 West Coast Natural Building Conference

Held annually, this year’s conference is co-hosted by the Cal Poly Architecture Department and to be a joint celebration of the California Straw Building Association’s 30th anniversary. Please join us for three days of presentations, discussions, and hands-on instruction with topics covering code, technical research, practical tips/tricks, bio-regional resilience, advocacy and more.

 

Theme: Tradition and Innovation 

Keynote Speaker: Summer Islam 

 

CASBA is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by straw building enthusiasts to further the practice by sharing practical experience, promoting and conducting research, and making the knowledge available to working professionals and public at large.

 

Since their first conference on the Carrizo Plain, architects, engineers, contractors, farmers, policy makers, owner-builders, and simply people interested in growing, building with, and promoting natural, biobased materials have joined the community. In a testament to the group’s pioneering work with business and government entities alike, there are now numerous examples of permitted straw bale homes and commercial buildings throughout California.