In a number of resource-poor developing countries, buildings are constructed of masonry material without thermal insulation. In winter, these buildings are uncomfortably cold or even uninhabitable. MIT is developing a low- cost thermal insulation for such countries. The feedstock for the prototype insulation is straw, a by-product of wheat threshing. The investigations have focused on straw density, the type and amount of binder needed to make straw panels, thermal and structural tests, and means of attaching the panels to stone walls and applying a surface finish. MIT students have made on-site surveys and prototype tests in Pakistan.