Yurts for Unhoused Community Members

***NOTE: As of 3/6 we have closed this fundraiser. Thank you for your support. It has allowed us to build and deploy over 50 yurts and respond to needed repairs. Your donations made this possible. The city's housing crisis does not have a one-time fix and sustained financial support means we can better respond to requests and strategically work to house our neighbors and challenge the city's violent approach to its unhoused residents. If you are interested to support this work in a recurring way, please consider becoming a monthly donor on our new fundraising platform. https://opencollective.com/ayumpls

Autonomous Yurt Union is raising funds to build yurt-inspired structures for unhoused community members across the Twin Cities. Yurts make winter in Minnesota survivable. With a wood stove and heavy duty tarp, yurts can make a life or death difference in sub-zero temperatures.

Our goal includes $10,000 for yurts and $5000 for tools to help us produce the wooden frames more sustainably.

Below is a breakdown of what each yurt costs with our current materials sourcing:

Slats for walls and roof: $135

Plyboard center circle: $30

5 2 x 4 x 8's for center supports and door: $20

Rope: $50

Hardware: $10

Barrel stove and stovepipe: $35

Large tarp: $120

TOTAL cost per yurt: $400

$10,000 will build 25 yurts.

With the remaining $5000, we will purchase a sawmill and table saw. With these tools, we can make wooden frames out of raw timber, reducing our building costs and our reliance on big lumber stores.

So far, we have built and erected 20 yurts at Nenookaasi Healing Camp in south Minneapolis, with significant improvements to safety and quality of life for residents, and we have begun supporting an additional camp in St. Paul. More funds would allow us to deepen our existing support work and expand to other encampments across both cities.

Everyone deserves a warm place to take shelter, especially Indigenous neighbors facing the cruelty of being unhoused on their own homelands. If you've been blessed with the safety and security of stable housing, please consider sharing those blessings. None of us are safe until all of us are safe!

You can see what the yurts look like and learn more about the effort below.