Apparently strawbale buildings were first constructed in the USA in the late nineteenth century when baling machines were invented. On the planes of Nebraska there were not many trees and no stone, so while waiting for timber to arrive to build, they built temporary houses out of straw bales

They are warm in winter and cool in summer as the insulating benefit from straw is good. Accordingly, many such houses were built up to the time of the second world war, and are still standing.