This month we’re taking our annual break from the regular round-up to share a bit on how we're doing and what we’re aiming for in 2026. The Last Straw has been a community-produced publication for 33 years now, and we like to take a small moment each year to be transparent about what we’re doing and where we’d like to go.
2025 WAS A HONKER
Though a lot of the news we shared in the roundup this year was disheartening, and the road to an equitable and sustainable future still looks bumpy, we have been so grateful to have you with us. Whether you read, shared, contributed, or are just joining today, every little bit helps us continue the work of The Last Straw. 2025 was largely a year of preparation at The Last Straw HQ: our small team of volunteers (Gavin, Kenny, Kevin, and Zoe) has been working hard this year behind the scenes on making the The Last Straw more financially sustainable for as long as it’s needed. The result of this work will be a membership program that will not only help TLS keep going, but also hopefully help make TLS more useful to everyone. We’ll share more about that program soon. And don’t worry, The Monthly Roundup will stay free and in your inbox. But even with all the back-end work that this has required, the number-crunching and the website editing, we still did a bunch this year including:
Hosting two live online curated conversation sessions: our inaugural TLS Talks
Expanding our reach with new brick-and-mortar stockists like: Ken Sanders Books in Salt Lake City, Milkmaid Mercantile in Taylorville, Maria’s Bookshop in Durango, Lithic Books in Fruita, and William Stout Architectural Books in San Francisco
Taking our show on the road (virtually) and presenting to a class of architecture students at Mount Holyoke College - which was a lot of fun and we’d love to speak to your class or company too
Getting sooooo close to completing our largest and most issue ever (over 100 pages!) This is our most ambitious issue to date. It’s packed with art, includes stories from around the world, some gorgeous buildings and some heart-wrenching stories. We can’t wait to share it with you.
2026 IS VERY LIKELY ALSO GOING TO BE A HONKER
This year our main priority is to cultivate community in person and across multiple platforms. Along with the release of our next issue we will be sharing stories, and hosting events around the theme of fire and its relationship to buildings and people.
We also plan to:
Finally bring back subscriptions to the print magazine in the form of paid memberships, to make it easier to stay in the loop and support The Last Straw (Don’t worry, we’re still finishing out current subscriptions!)
Make regenerative building resources more accessible and widely-known
Host more events in real life and have more TLS Talks
Expand the TLS team
While we’re not a nonprofit, we sure act like one! If you’re able to, please consider donating to or sponsoring The Last Straw so that we can help scale up regenerative building and open the crack in conventional construction even wider.
We wish you a peaceful new year and please hit us up if you’re passing through London (U.K.), San Francisco (California), or Green River (Utah)!
With love,
The Last Straw Editorial Collective
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Community Rebuilds is hiring a Construction Supervisor for April 2026. This role leads the on-site construction of six affordable, energy-efficient homes while managing safety, materials, schedules, and subcontractors. Applicants should be able to read blueprints, multitask, and demonstrate strong leadership and organizational skills. The supervisor trains volunteers and supports homeowners in meeting USDA Mutual Self-Help requirements. Moab-based nonprofit. Compensation DOE; housing available. Email your resume to info@communityrebuilds.org
THANK YOU TO OUR CURRENT SPONSORS!
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor email us at admin@thelaststraw.org
DON’T MISS OUT, WE STILL HAVE COPIES OF OUR LATEST MAGAZINE!
The Last Straw Issue 76, on Natural Building Education
How do you learn natural building? How do you teach it? No one told us the one catch-all trick to natural building education, but in this issue our contributors trace the histories and present to figure out a way ahead.
It is heartening to know TLS efforts are still alive and growing. I visited The Black Range Lodge in 1998, and was fortunate enough to have the complete guided tour of strawbale experimentation, cook communal meals, and stay in the straw bale house built for Catherine's mother. I built with adobe in NM in the late 70's while in my 20s, now I'm 77 and am still just as interested and hopeful for the sanity of working & building WITH nature while inner peace has become more precious.♡