The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is building straw-bale houses in northern China, reports the South China Morning Post. The project, also backed by Hong Kong’s Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, will provide cheaper, healthier housing for thousands of the region’s residents.

Scott Christiansen, ADRA’s director in China, says that the homes have “several advantages over conventional ones,” the newspaper reports. The new homes are economical, saving owners money, and environmentally friendly, reducing carbon dioxide emissions from interior fireplaces.  Straw-bale homes are 20 percent cheaper to build and require 80 percent less coal to heat than traditional homes. A higher moisture retention in straw-bale homes leads to a decrease in respiratory disease for residents.

“We are aiming to put in place the technology and experience to enable the building of potentially thousands of straw-bale houses all over northern China,” says Christiansen. ADRA will show its newest set of homes on November 12 in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province.