096 Building with Earth, Heart, and Hands

A Sustainability Now Interview with Athena Steen, Co-Founder of the Canelo Project

Athena is a master natural builder and devoted educator. For 35 years, she’s been crafting homes from earth’s simplest materials—straw, clay, and plant fibers, infusing each home with the warmth of earth-based materials, the stability of thoughtful design, and the harmony of organic forms.

Athena teaches the art of straw bale building as a communal, creative, and sacred practice that reawakens a deep, ancestral relationship to the land. She speaks to the feminine energy and joy of building a home as a shared experience—stacking bales, mixing clay, and crafting with the earth itself—in an intimate dance with the natural world.

Athena offers a visionary approach to sustainable living, where the very walls we raise become sacred vessels—imbued with intention, creativity and care. Join us as we explore the healing power of working with our hands, the joy of building in harmony with nature, and the profound possibility of creating homes—and communities—that honor both people and planet.