Interview

 

Q. What's good about living in a straw bale house? Why did you choose to live in one?

A. Living in a straw bale house is better for the environment and straw is cheap and easy to get. I chose to live in one because I could help out with the labor and I could use my artistic ability to create the home I wanted.

 

Q. How was moving to the EcoVillage? What attracted you to it?

A. I liked the idea of living in a safe, close-knit community, where everyone is friendly and children can go outside and play without parents worrying. I also liked the idea of living a healthier lifestyle.

 

Q. What work did you do on your house?

A. I did all that I could to help out with the house because I wanted to be involved. I helped out with the ceiling of the house, countertops, and the plaster.

 

Q. How did you hear about straw bale houses?

A. I heard about it from a friend and I instantly knew that this type of living was for me.

 

Q. How do you contribute to the EcoVillage?

A. Well, every member of the village is suppose to do about 2-3 hours a week of work for the community, whether it be mowing the lawn to helping cook dinner for the people. I am a busy lady but in my free time I help out with the outdoor maintenance (mowing lawns, taking care of the community garden), community projects, working on different committees, and community get togethers.

 

Q. What hobbies are you actively involved in?

A. I gain immense pleasure utilizing my leisure time in the sanctuary of my backyard growing and harvesting gourds. With these gourds, I then make them into art, such as lamps. It is just my thing, what I love to do. In the near future I plan to open up an area in downtown Ithaca, where other artists can come set up their work. I want people from the community to get involved and be able to walk right in without any appointments and be hands on with whichever art catches their eye.

 

Q. What are the benefits of having your son grow up in the EcoVillage?

A. Ollie, that's my son, moved here with me when he was 13 years old. The thought of moving to the EcoVillage was not something that he was very fond of, but after time, he got used to it. I think that it is different when children are born into and grow up in the community rather than a child who moves into it. It was hard for him, and me, but I think it was a good choice for the both of us.

 

Q. Why the last name O?

A. When I was engaged to my first husband, we wanted to think of a way to combine both of our last names, and pretty much tried putting our names together in every way possible. After a lot of thought and not getting anywhere, one morning we woke up and he said to me, "How about we become the O's? So, the name just stuck and I became Graham O.