Earth Light Build is a small design/build firm dedicated to creating beautiful, regenerative, energy efficient, cozy, non-toxic spaces. Cat and Erin approach every project with enthusiasm, their diverse skill set allowing them to blend practicality with artistry. With a focus on healthy materials and building practices, they seek to make a lasting and meaningful contribution to their communities. They are licensed General Contractors in California (#1136958), but maintain a host of collaborators up and down the west coast as well as across the country, and even a few globally. Values and vibe are the driving force behind their project selection.

Both Cat and Erin come from design and art foundations. They were drawn to these materials for their environmental impact as well as their sculptural possibilities, and they are passionate about bringing their artistry to healthy, functional spaces. They met at a cob workshop, a common gateway to natural building, in the Sierra Nevada hills outside of Reno. They remain grateful to Kyle and Katie for that first hands on immersion. After that workshop, they knew they wanted to keep working together, but they lived in different states and they knew they needed a lot more experience. The quest had begun and they dedicated themselves to the mud path. Before starting Earth Light Build, they spent years working for the most prominent companies on the west coast. Cat got her first taste of earthen floors in Portland, under the guidance of renowned expert Sukita Krimmel, author of Earthen Floors, while also working as a framer for Carey Lien. When an opportunity to stack bales popped up down south, they each loaded up their trucks and headed to San Diego, where they got their first taste of straw building with Simple Construct. Once that 6,000SF house was stacked, they stuck around to get their formal plaster training from Rebecca Tasker. Cat stayed on with Simple Construct learning about lime plaster and the fine art of tadelakt, and two year later, she continued her education by heading up to the Olympic Peninsula, and working for plaster guru James Henderson and the crew at NW Natural Homes. Erin sough tutelage with Athena Steen, and both Cat and Erin have had the good fortune to join projects with Lydia Doleman, Ashley McDonnell, and Ryan Kirkby.

They are deeply grateful to all those who have paved the way before them—from our ancestors to today’s experts—and especially to those who continue to share their knowledge so generously. They would also like to acknowledge the many people who have worked tirelessly to bring this style of building into the realm of state jurisdiction. Its legality today is the result of passionate, intelligent people coming together to demonstrate its viability and advocate for its acceptance.

For anyone interested in learning more, the California Straw Building Association (CASBA) is an incredible resource and offers an excellent history of the movement and the work that helped bring straw building into today’s climate. CASBA's longstanding work in research, testing, and building-code acceptance has played an important role in that progress.