Dacha & Tiny Home Builders

Summary:

The purpose of this project is to provide skills training in carpentry and plumbing to underprivileged youth to help them escape their family cycle of poverty and at the same time provide them a steady income during the process.

History:

Several members of the Transform Uzhhorod Alliance had developed an idea years ago to launch a technical school to teach carpentry and plumbing skills for Rroma young people. One of those members, Life & Hope Ukraine, had donated a considerable amount of funds for the purchase of tools. Another individual member who is a home builder by trade, Eugene Yevdokimov, formed the NGO “Let’s Help” in order to fulfill this purpose. One Collective has been helping him develop a budget and business plan to start the technical institute. Another member of the Alliance, Fruitful Seed, has graciously offered the unused garage in their Rroma community center they built, to be used as the initial workshop for this technical institute. Let’s Help also expanded their vision beyond just Rroma young people, to any young person from an underprivileged family.

Business Plan:

The model is to build a business that provides the funds to cover the ongoing expenses of the technical institute as well as an additional 25% towards building projects for those in need. We will accomplish this goal with the building of dachas and “tiny” homes in the Zacarpathian region of Ukraine. Each project would take one-week to build, and we would need to build an average of three buildings every two months.

Ministry Plan:

This project will provide training to underprivileged youth in order to build a career in carpentry and plumbing. It will also provide jobs in the short term. In addition, we will be able to assist families in need of construction help in their homes. An added bonus is that the local television station, a member of our Alliance, will show Rroma young people assisting Ukrainian families for the first time. This will go a long way in changing the impression of the Rroma only taking from society, and not giving back. It will be a start in bringing self-respect back to the hard-working Rroma community. It will also provide inexpensive housing for young families. So this project has many community transformation angles.

Budget:

One-Time Budget: $13,150

Building supplies (to convert garage into the workshop): $200
Bathroom (toilet, sink, and door): $250
Lighting (for the workshop): $150
Worktables and shelves: $750
Space heaters: $150
Additional tools: $2050
Advertising: $1450
Generator: $650
Model “Tiny” Home: $7500

Ongoing Budget (monthly): $1260

Utilities: $55
Salary (1/2-time director): $375
Bookkeeper Salary (part-time): $100
Salary Taxes: $190
Transportation (supplies to the worksite): $115
Office Supplies: $20
Maintenance/Repair: $40
Rent (blessing to Fruitful Seed): $40
Business Tax: $75
Building Supplies for Charity Work: $250

We are requesting 1 year of the ongoing budget while the business is built for a total of $15,120.

Total Request: $28,270

Business Plan

This business plan is based on the first step of building affordable dachas which are already in high demand and part of the culture. These dachas would be 2.5m wide X 8m long X 2.5m high. We can offer them at a cheaper rate as our labor is much lower. We will then build a model “tiny” home as a model to begin promoting this as an affordable option for young Ukrainians. We need to earn at least $1260 each month to make this a viable business. Each dacha will cost us $375 in materials and $200 in labor. We will sell them for $1415 which is nearly 17% below the market cost. Our profit per dacha would be $840. We would need to build three dachas every two months. That would mean three weeks of work, and one week of charity work. This would amount to half-time for our director who would then spend the other half with his own private projects.

We would need two students to build a dacha, who would each earn $100 for their work. This is above the average income in our region. We estimate that a student would need to participate in the building of six dachas (4 months) to earn a certificate for completing the course.