Yurts are supposed to feel close and warm and cozy, like a good cave (some say natal womb)
Too many windows and you'll loose insulation. Have you been in the Missouri state park yurts? There might be some forum members in your region, too.
Some Tiny Houses have similar square footage to 16-18' yurts--have you looked at those? I recall 5 years ago their DIY estimates were lower (10-15k). A lot more work, but a little more portable and culturally acceptable than a yurt. And lots of windows!
Looking at the Groovey Yurts webpage, they offer a lot of options. It looks like the regular wall height is 4.5', but there's also a Super Ger/20' that has 5.5' walls--the way the roof poles slope, that'd probably make for 6' clearance a foot or two away from the wall (most people don't really walk/lean against walls much). They also offer extra windows/doors. If you asked, there's a good chance they could refer you to somebody in your region with one of their yurts.
One thing about the strawbale platform: I wouldn't exactly call it sturdy. It can be made sturdy--thicker plywood, more 'joists' tying things together, more care in leveling the ground/bales. This can be important for modern yurts, which usually have the lattice attached to the platform in some way. Wood frame platforms are 'portable', just maybe more work to takedown/setup and a little spendier.
Also in the traditional vs modern yurts debate--takedown/setup time. My 20' traditional yurt takes 1-3 hrs to take down/setup completely by 1-2 people (not including platform: est 1.5 hrs). A 25' modern yurt I helped take down took all day for 2-3 inexperienced people & 1 guide; I've heard similar times for another modern yurt. Don't know about the smaller sizes or with experienced (dis)assemblers though.
I haven't had my yurt up for the last two months (ie, since I finished sewing the roof piece), and I'm also waiting for a large enough area to sew the side piece (my living room <<<60 ft, or even 30 ft). So I haven't been able to test it, sadly. Probably won't get below 40 F until the fall now.
As for wool--I know a family with sheep/goats in Northern Idaho. I was tempted to use their wool (maybe $4/lb, really cheap!) but didn't want to mess with figuring out how to use it (washed/unwashed, moth protection?, picking?, felting or batts or quilting/sewing into pillow cases into blankets?). Depending on the markets for alpaca wool, you might be able to get a steal