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Athena and Bill Steen
authors of "The Straw Bale House"
"The Beauty of Straw Bale Homes"
"Built by Hand"
"Earthen Floors"
& "Small Strawbale"
It was our love for the place we live, along with the things we enjoy doing - natural building, working with plants, artistic design, photography and writing, that led us to create The Canelo Project.

Bill Steen is from Tucson, Arizona and has a background in community development and photography.

Athena Swentzell Steen is from Santa Fe, New Mexico and comes from an artistic family background of Native American potters, sculptors and educators.

The inclusion of contributions from other cultures in our work is of great importance to us. Our combined Native American, Mexican and European backgrounds enable us to interact with a wide variety of people from different contexts and cultures
.
We enjoy working on a small and human scale that integrates daily life, work, home, food and family.

Bill, Benito (age 10), Athena, Oso (age 8), Arin (age 16) and Kalin (age 3mo.) year 2000
Bill and Athena using up leftover plaster mix to make straw-clay blocks.
Spring 2004
Summer 2004.
Left: Arjuna (Oso)
Middle: Benito
Left: Kalin
Kalin Steen - four years old, 2004
Arjuna Steen - 12 years old. 2004
Benito Steen - 14 years old. 2004.
Benito made his own kimono.