RUMRORD – Construction of a model straw-insulated house will begin early next year after money for it came through this week.
The plan was sidelined last year when a United States Department of Agriculture $50,000 grant fell through.
River Valley Growth Council Economic Developer Scott Christiansen said the money came through this week and the Rumford Group Home agency will build it.
The house would be insulated by straw bales. The frame is being developed by the University of Maine. Similar homes have been created in the western part of the United States.
The ultimate hope is to create a house kit, using wood and a specially designed truss from the abundance of saplings and small trees growing in the state.
Rumford Group Homes will acquire land in the area on which to build the house. Specifications of the grant call for completion by November 2004.
The growth council received a $10,000 Maine Technology Institute seed grant last year to begin work on the building’s design.
Christiansen said he will likely have to find another $10,000 to $20,000 in grants to assure completion of the model home.
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