Eco house builder blasts Three Little Pigs for suggesting straw and stick homes easily blown down 

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Climate expert’s dig at the Three Little Pigs: Eco house builder blasts beloved bedtime tale for suggesting straw and stick homes can be easily blown down

  • James Drinkwater said that the Three Little Pigs belittles using natural materials
  • The expert at a climate organisation said ‘there’s a need to change perceptions’ 
  • In the childhood fable, the wolf blows down houses made from sticks and straw 

By Elmira Tanatarova For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:


An environmentalist has said that the children’s fable, Three Little Pigs, mocks eco-friendly materials.

James Drinkwater said the Big Bad Wolf, who blows down two of the three houses which are made from straw and sticks, sends the message that natural materials aren’t fit for construction.

In the childhood classic first printed as far back as the 1840s, only the house built from bricks stays standing.

An environmentalist has said that the children’s fable Three Little Pigs mocks eco-friendly materials (file photo used)

At a talk hosted by Dezeen last month, Mr Drinkwater, Head of Built Environment at philanthropic organisation Laudes Foundation, said: ‘There’s a classic story in England called the Three Little Pigs.

‘The first made its house of straw and that natural material was terrible.

‘There’s a need to change perceptions to show what’s possible.’

The Laudes Foundation has projects working towards the construction of zero carbon buildings with a focus on using timber, thought to be one of the most eco-friendly building materials.

James Drinkwater (pictured) said the Big Bad Wolf, who blows down two of the three houses, which are made from straw and sticks sends the message that natural materials aren't fit for construction

James Drinkwater (pictured) said the Big Bad Wolf, who blows down two of the three houses, which are made from straw and sticks sends the message that natural materials aren’t fit for construction

In October it announced a new fund called Built by Nature, described by the organisation as ‘a multi-million euro grant-making fund to accelerate the timber building transformation across Europe’.

Mr Drinkwater added during the talk: ‘We really now need to work with nature, which is our strongest tool to get on that negative emissions track.

‘We know the science says that forests offer our best hope.’