This paper presents the technical feasibility of baling vetiver grass to be used in load-bearing plastered bale walls. The vetiver grass species used for this research at the time was called Vetiveria zizanioides Nash. A baling technique for vetiver grass was developed using a conventional square baling machine and a standard tractor. The moisture content and density of the vetiver bales were determined and compared to various codes. Two plastered vetiver bale walls, 1.8 m high × 3.2 m long × 0.5 m thick, were constructed and uniformly loaded in compression along the top surface of the wall until the walls reached the ultimate failure load. The loading, deflection, and cracking behaviour of the walls were recorded and analyzed. The ultimate failure loads for the plastered vetiver bale walls were compared to plastered non-vetiver bale walls from literature and the allowable design load from code.
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