Make Black Girl Tiny House Dreams Come True
I planning to remodel a Vintage Red Fruehauf Trailer with a soft completion and move in date of October 2020 (NOW SPRING/SUMMER 2021).
My aim is to have a budget-conscious, community-built, earth-friendly, and debt-free home.
All commissioned (e.g woodwork and welding) work will center folks who I know sew goodness and justice in the world. This includes women, POC, LGBT siblings, etc.
Here are a few ways that I imagine #BlackGirlTiny being larger than me especially in the next 3-5 years:
Invite BIPOC/QTPOC to come out free of charge for short respite stays.
Use the tiny house to supplement my income as a young Black woman in the south.
Use surrounding land to host healing spaces and retreats for BIPOC/QTPOC.
Reconnect with the land and homestead/grow crops to sustain myself and community.
Possible cooperative living settlement/shared space for others to live.
It has been just over three years since I graduated from undergrad. Three things have been present in what feels like a long and cyclical season- love, loss, and longing. I have loved being held by my community, doing the work, and finding God in the mystery. I have lost people, religion, and things. I have longed for a place that is my own, where I can be free to come home to myself.
Longing is the genesis of Black Girl Tiny. My heart aches for space where my people are invited to show up, sit, and stay for a while. I dream of a day when I can invite tired and weary souls to take respite in my home, however tiny she may be.
A few years ago I became fascinated by the tiny house movement. I especially was interested in tiny houses that were low cost and sustainable. In 2018, I finally started to mention the idea to a few of the people closest to me. By 2019 I had my plans drawn and consulted with a solar energy specialist. Still, my dream was put on the back burner due to other commitments and resources. It probably won't surprise you that the tiny house community as a whole is not representative of people like me.
I experienced a traumatic event in late 2019 into early 2020 that has inspired me to actively and courageously pursue the completion of my tiny house. My tiny home is an act of healing and resistance. This is me stepping into caring for myself by honoring one of my deepest desires. And this place we create together will be a loud testament that we are here, still.