Campaign Story

What is this project?

Our goal is to build a metal building (to be finished inside) to function primarily as a yoga studio and recording studio for the podcast, Chicken Yogi TV, and other projects I have in mind. Most importantly the first step is to demolish the old trailer, which is a daily PTSD trigger/reminder of the abuse I suffered financially and emotionally from clergy due to lies and financial extortion, as well as the fact that made it so I was unable to get mom a home of her own before she died. I feel like that’s a big personal failing of mine, and won’t lie. It hurts. Getting the trailer removed would help with the healing process in a major way!

Why build?

First, I am 15-25 miles away from any city, and finding a place to rent, let alone buy, would be nightmarish. I live in rural, southern Missouri which has recently passed some extremely transphobic laws.  I do not believe that it would be safe for me out and own property/rent property in town. Additionally, as I’d want to be doing something in the building every day, it would save on fuel and environmental costs to have a building on site. Additionally, we have the space here, and part of the property could function as a small barn area bringing water closer to the horses/pet pigs/chickens, as well as electricity closer to them as well in the event of an emergency. Power and water are available and installed ON SITE already.

We have the knowledge of basic carpentry and home renovation skills to do a lot of the work ourselves. Sure, it’ll be done slowly, on our own time, but it will get done.

The buildings that we’re looking at (either quanset hut or steel building) are more structurally engineered than our old mobile home, which means we’ll have a better place to go in case of storms as well. (Not being able to buy a storm shelter due to the financial extortion I endured, is yet another of my biggest regrets and pain points, so this would help heal that, too.)

We can do this cheaper than we could purchase a property of comparable size and of course anything we purchase would be a 15-25 mile one-way trip, so not useful on the farm.

This is a four phase project. That’s great because it means all the money doesn’t have to be raised at once.

Step #1: Demolition of old trailer and opening up the space = est cost $10,000 (based on website estimates, so may be less/more due to our area)
Step #2: Concrete pad for foundation of building = est cost $10,000 (based on website concrete pad estimates, may be less due to our area)
Step #3: Building (Either steel metal building or steel quanset hut = budget $15-17,000 (again may be less, we need to talk to the local company. But this feels like a good estimate based on conversations with the Quanset hut company)
Step #4: Interior finishing (plumbing, electrical, etc.) = Guessing $20K. The good news is that we can do most of this work ourselves (me and spouse) so it would just be materials. I’ve got an Amazon wishlist going too.

Right now the project target is set to be enough money to meet Step #1. Targets will be adjusted as we finalize numbers/raise funds.

What is going to happen with the money since we pay immediately?

All money raised for this project is going to go into a special business savings account created just for this project. I will be talking to the bank about it next week (June 10, 2023) and setting it up and can add more details then, but I’m hoping it will be an interest bearing account so your money can earn interest and hopefully push us that much closer to our goals. I am serious about this project and the money will only be used for this project. I will also be providing monthly updates and progress reports to all crowdfunders so you’ll be kept informed.