In The last straw [more here], an article found via Builders without borders issue #37, we can read the following (A Sleeping Red Giant: The Rapid Growth of Straw-bale Construction in China) : Which country has the largest concentration of straw-bale buildings? If you answered the United States, you’re correct today, but you could be wrong soon. If China’s current straw-bale building continues along the same exponential trajectory (from one school in 1998 to over 250 buildings in 2001), plastered straw bales will eventually replace the ubiquitous red brick seen throughout northeastern China. An upcoming ban on the use of brick in many provinces may spur straw-bale construction to even faster growth