Help Ian & Ty Build A Bus Life!
Hello all!
(Pan on a backyard adventure)
We (Ian and Ty) have been planning our goals of homesteading and tiny living for over a decade now. We want a relatively self-sustained space to make make art, rehab wildlife, and help encourage others to do the same through eventual workshops, videos and more.
In recent years, we've decided that the best first step is transitioning to a mobile life (converting a bus into a living space). Living and traveling on a bus would have many benefits for us and would give us a stable place to live until we find land to build our homestead. 
(a field of dead nettle in Virginia, 2016)
Shortly before COVID19 erupted in the states, I had just begun taking additional hours at work to help both continue to pay our bills and to start saving toward our transition to bus life. Now, with Ty (and myself) being unable to see clients directly, and having to stay home for the health and safety of ourselves and our house, like many others we've taken a terrible blow financially.
(EDIT: As of August 1st - Ty and I will be leaving Jersey City because our lease could not be renewed, nor was there an option to pay month to month, which has set us in motion to get rolling with our bus as soon as possible.)
We both felt that putting up a gofundme to ask friends, family, and clients for help saving toward the next chapter of our lives is our best route to go. With this being something we have planned to do for years, we felt that crowdfunding a space that we can have as a stable living space (should another emergency arise such as this or otherwise where we find we find ourselves unable to work whether it’s because of our health or any other reason) would be much more beneficial than asking for temporary financial assistance when we don’t know how long this pandemic will go on/if there will be additional waves of it to come.
We have already been drafting floorplans and breaking down the projected costs of each step of the project. 
(one of our first floor plan designs - i'm still getting used to digital models!)
Funds Raised Here Would Go Toward:
· buying a bus ~$2-4.5K
· title/registration ~$150
· converting the bus into a living space (stripping, insulating, painting, electric, etc.) ~$6-7K (I will be writing blogs and providing links to the step-by-step breakdown of costs and also what we'll be doing if you're curious!)
(Possible Additional Expenses)
(once we purchase the bus, I will know whether or not we need to adjust our "goal" to meet additional costs)
· potentially hiring a driver (depending on state bus is in) to transport it to work space until it is registered as private/mobile home
· additional rental tools
If we exceed our donation goal, any additional funding will go toward any potential maintenance or work expenses (maybe things to help with making better video/etc. to share), and/or building up a small “emergency funds” account. We’ll obviously also pay it forward when we see other folks in need and we’re capapble.
While we would most benefit from having this project funded as soon as possible, we will work with whatever we can can and look to be purchasing a bus before September of 2020.
(Ty helping out with a foster pup during a Hamilton Park Pack Walk)
Helping support and fund this project will help Ty and I more than you could possibly know.
· We would have a stable home that is ours and not a rental.
· Perhaps most importantly, we would have more flexibility in not only how often but where we worked. This means allowing us to take time off when needed for chronic pain, and also the ability to travel when needed to places where the weather is a little more friendly on our bodies.
· Reduced financial strain would also allow us to save for our long term goals of homesteading and wildlife rehabilitation (which we've been pretty much talking about doing together for over a decade).
· We would be able to help more people with Mantra Pet/IAMNTU by working on the go (traveling to clients, potentially teaching seminars, and making training videos with our own fuzzy family in a variety of environments)
· We could sell our crafts and art on the go (and maybe...some baked goods - yum!) and I would also have the opportunity to prioritize my photography (and could be documenting wherever we go!)
A Little More About Us
Ty:
Tyber "Ty" P Qalipu A Mishipeshu Murphy, Mi'kmaq puoin, is perhaps most known locally as a behavioral consultant (owner of the "Mantra Pet" behavior and training business of Jersey City - where they help to enrich the lives of their clients and their furry family) but they are essentially a jack-of-all-trades in arts and indigenous/intersectional behavioral sciences.
Queer, two-spirit, trans*, indigenous, and in a constant battle with disability/chronic pain they incorporate every aspect of themselves into their work, activism, and everyday life. Anyone that knows Ty has seen that they are intensely driven and rarely lacking something to do (even though sometimes a good rest is what they really need).
Under names push.tyber, agentSKYHOUSE, & Muddy Banks they have self published zines, started a music label (Ghosts 0f American Terrorism) & radio show (TRANS AM) for themselves and other queer and minority folk, and are always working on a project of some sort always with the intention of increasing visibility to those who need it most.
In their lack of spare time, they study Mi'kmaq linguistics, their native endangered language ("jel alasutmay jel amalkay"/ and praying and dancing ).
Ian/BB:
Ian "BB" Murphy is a predominantly self-taught artist and photographer and Ty's partner of more than 10 years. Most locals know him as the quiet test subject that Ty brings along to introduce to shy, anxious, or angry dogs that aren't used to humans that respect personal space. He is the primary photographer and designer for Mantra Pet.
Outside of assisting Ty with training and business, he also takes private photography clients and creates a variety of art/crafts (and has most recently been featured at the 2020 JCTC "Destiny" show as well as the COVID-19 postponed "Resistant Women" show). His art and photography cover a variety of intersecting subjects from queerness, sex and body positivity, addiction and recovery, the natural world and our relationship with it, spirituality, and more. 
Ian is queer, trans*, and on the autism spectrum. He makes up for any of the tools missing from his social toolbox with an unending tenacity to move himself and those around him forward (through encouraging personal awareness, research and planning, and looking at people and problems objectively to find suitable solutions for all). While he can become easily overwhelmed socially and prefers a relatively solitary lifestyle, he also believes that helping others in the ways he's capable is an incredibly important part of his life path. 
Ian is working on building a collection of resources and writing step by step blogs to help people who are also venturing into bus life, piecing together floral photo-books, and riding a never-ending flow of creative projects.
Our Fuzzy Fam:
Ian and Ty currently have two dogs (Mudra and Bowie) and two cats (Divine and Pan). They are all rescues and now seniors (Divine is almost 20 - I still can't believe it!) that have been with us for the greater majority of their lives and they hopefully still have several years ahead of them.
We obviously will bring our furry children with us when we make the bus transition (and are quite confident that they will adapt just fine! One of the many perks of training animals for a living) and think it'll greatly enrich all of their lives.
I thought it'd only be proper to introduce them as well.
Pan (up top) is our inquisitive and boisterous bengal mix. He talks to walls and likes to shout about what he's doing throughout the day. But oh, no no no, not like your typical cat but with the voice like a small gurgling child that often confuses and bewilders any new visitors to the house. He often demands as much time outside as the dogs and will let you know when he thinks he's been cooped up too long (he goes out on harness because he is quite the little predator and it's safer in the city in general!). 
(Mudra, our border collie/sheltie x, getting some sun)
Mudra (Above) is intelligent, intensely driven, and always keeping us on our toes. He's always looking for some sort of work to do and more often than not sulks (just like his dad) when he needs to take a break. We often joke that Mudra is part fox because he is constantly scheming new ways to get into trouble and is one of the most deliberate and analytical dogs I've ever met when it comes to pushing buttons or waiting for that precisely opportune time to snag that last snack off your plate. 
(Bowie, our hound x, complaining via yawn that he wants his bed moved...like, right now.)
Bowie is our mostly mild mannered, occasional goofball, hound dog. While he spends most of the day sleeping and lazing about, he'll sneak up when you least expect it and give you those droopy sad eyes asking why you haven't been petting him every moment of the day. Put him on a pasture or out in the woods and you'll see another side of him romping and zooming about. Unfortunately, he's not much of a city dog (and is phobic of cars after being hit as a pup) and prefers sleeping or chilling out in the yard to walking the busy city streets where we currently reside. 
(Divine, sleeping with her stuffed goat friend, Bartleby)
Divine is the queen of the house and she knows it. This icy lady has warmed up with age and will demand attention by stomping her feet and yelling with her broken meow box (she often sounds like she's almost muted). Are you reading? Drawing? Have you placed anything on the floor before her? Have you forgotten to clean up after yourself? All unacceptable. She will sit on your books or awkwardly placed items, demand a head pet, and will literally huff when she is done with you or doesn't get her way. (I love her so much, you have no idea)
And In Closing...
We just wanted to say thank you to anyone who took the time to read through this, to reach out and check-in with us, to offer assistance in any way (whether contributing monetarily or otherwise), for sharing this fund with others, or even just offering words of encouragement and support.
Anything and everything means the world to us. We thank you for being our friends, part of our family, and/or choosing to be our clients.
We wish you all the best in these dark times and hope that you continue to see the silver lining in your lives. We look forward to sharing our lives and our story with you as we continue to grow.
Much love to you all.
Ian, Ty, and our fluffy family