Building finally got underway in 2003 and by this time Ms Shiamh had already been living in a shed in woodland for seven years.
Ms Shiamh said she was living “without mains, carrying water from a local spring, using candlelight, a gas stove and reaping the benefits of a compost loo.”
“My way of life completely changed as I lived here. I dropped my dance career to be in nature and allow the simple daily tasks of living here unfold.” She added.
During its lengthy construction, the site - which overlooks the river Teifi and was once used by 12th-century monks of the now-ruined St Dogmaels Abbey as a lookout point – was even visited by Amazonian tribe’s people and Aboriginal chiefs. Now complete, the home has been named Penwhilwr, which is “Watch tower” in Welsh.
And, having finally been completed this year, it is now one of three buildings vying for the title of Eco-Home of the Year, to be awarded at Channel Fours Grand Designs Live show next week.
The home is entirely ‘off the grid’, with no mains electricity or water supplies, it relies solely on a windmill and solar panels for energy, and biomass heating fuelled by coppiced wood from the surrounding woodland. There is also a rainwater harvesting system and all waste is composted on site.
Because of the unique nature of the building the site became the base for a virtual pilgrimage, as volunteers flocked to this remote corner of Pembrokeshire from all over the world in their droves to help with the build.
“I came back home to visit my parents and I found the land. I wasn’t really looking for it but when it came up I had such a strong sense that I needed to live in nature,” said Ms Shiamh, 42.
“Then it changed the course of my life. It took five years to build because it was a self-build project and a way of building which encompassed education and working with the community.” She said of the project which, now completed, welcomes visitors for its courses, retreats and conferences on the ways of authentic living, natural building, yoga, healing, music and meditation.
“It had a natural ebb and flow to it which was also reliant on my own energy levels. I realised that if I wanted the home I envisioned I would have to project manage it myself,” she continued. “After two years of communications with Pembrokeshire Planning Authority who have given me a lot of support I received planning permission to build a sustainable house.”
Its construction involved straw bales being stitched together with twine before being painstakingly covered with clay and lime by hand and topped with a timber roof. The technique, which has been used for more than a hundred years, was pioneered shortly after the bailing machine was introduced in America.
"You spend hours making a mix, all with hands and feet, then you spend the rest of the day spreading it on your walls with your hands," said Ms Shiamh, 42. "Then at the end of the day you stand back to look at it and it seems like you've done nothing at all."
Lindsay Halton was the architect who drew up the original designs, after a chance meeting with Ms Shiamh resulting from his daughter being in her dance class.
Halton has since gone on to write a book which explores a home’s physical aspects as deeper reflections of its owner’s spiritual life and path, something that Ms Shiamh herself is fascinated by.
“What’s interesting is that the site was once connected to the abbey, I’ve always had a sense it was going to be bigger than me and it is starting to unfold that way,” she concluded.
For more information about living off the grid, check out our ‘
Off-grid living’ article .