We are Priscila and Rui.

We are a couple from Portugal, and last year we took the plunge: we sold our house, paid the bank, bought some land and started planning, embarking on a journey for a better life with our incredible dogs and cats.

Things have been going very slowly because Rui is working full time, but we still have the mornings free to do some stuff. Rui used all of his vacation time for our move.

We've encountered SO MANY roadblocks, but still, we're perseverating because this has been a dream for so many years...

We live close by the land in a rented house while we set everything up (totally off-grid) and since we ran out of money, we have been buying and gathering materials every month, as we can, with the help of a family member.

We go by on Portuguese minimum wage for 2 people, 5 amazing dogs and 3 cuddly cats; it only covers the essential bills, which is enough for us; we're simple people.

This past Friday, as we arrived at our land, we saw that our shipyard, where we were storing our building materials and tools, had been busted open, and everything worth a cent was taken. (We were still gathering the final supplies and waiting for the welder to come and cut the window openings and weld the frames in, to start applying the materials.)

Once our family heard about the theft, they told us they would no longer be helping with anything (although this was gut-wrenching to hear, we kind of understand why. Still, they could have waited a few days to give us this news and not right on top of our desperation).

As you can imagine, the shock and pain, the feeling of being violated in our space and having lost 12 thousand euros of materials, tools, and machinery, was overwhelming. (total estimated at current prices)

We called the cops, a CSI-type team came to collect traces, but it's not like on tv, and they got NOTHING.

Our first thought was to abandon the project and sell what was left.

But after collecting ourselves and thinking it over, we decided we're not going to be victims; we're going to be FIGHTERS.

This was an eye-opener on many levels, so not everything was bad. (got to find those twists in there and learn something).

We're feeling as badass as ever. Even more than ever!

But... (there's always a but, right?)

We need your help to get back on our feet and replace what was taken, asap.

For mental health reasons, Priscila can't work a full-time job for a very long time (we can go into detail via PM).

There is nothing left from Rui's salary 3 days after he's paid (we're not spenders, but a Portuguese minimum wage is a bad joke). We could never recover on our own.

Would you please help us by donating something? Even a little would be so very welcome!!

Among the so many things that keep popping into our mind, they took:

a Genergy Natura 7000W generator, without it, we're powerless to operate electrical tools, like welder, cutter, drill, etc. and proceed with turning the containers into a home... (and consumables, about 1600 euros)

all of our electrical material (electrical wires, plugs, switches, lights, electrical box and everything that goes inside, ply wall boxes, etc) (about 1200 euros)

an OutBack inverter and some solar equipment... (2000 euros)

all hand tools that Priscila had since she was 16/17 (she's 43). We currently don't even have a screwdriver... (priceless, but about 400 to 500 euros to replace). She had a hammer in there that was an heirloom... and a hand-wound measuring tape that was her deceased dad's...

a ground drill by Garland to dig for fencing (260 euros)

a small chainsaw by Garland (240 euros)

Water pump (70 euros)

all water pipes and connectors inox and pvc (1000 euros)

boxes full of loose tools and accessories, netting, farming knickknacks, etc. (around 300 euros)

A full roll of chicken wire (70 euros)

2 brand new greenhouses that arrived the day before (230 euros)

2 ladders (an A ladder + multipositions ladder with platforms) (300 euros)

All of the IKEA kitchen cabinet hinges (200 euros)

scythe, axe, pick axe, catana, and so much more!

masonry tools (50 euros)

chisels and related tools

Extension chords (50 euros)

circular water heather stuff and accessories (120 euros)

cast iron heater vents and "hat" (200 euros)

all of our (hand) farming tools, 3 dustpans, a broom that was falling apart and a roll of trash bags... (300 euros)

Screws and nuts of all kinds and sizes... (100 euros)

Everything we'd been buying and gathering for the last year. Some stuff without invoices, just over-the-counter quick grabs... (even if the police find these items, they won't return anything without invoices)

They took the tripod and ring light we were using to film and shed some light inside the back of the container until it had some windows, so that we could start work... (60 euros)

They even took our wc bucket and the toilet paper...

We estimate our losses to be at around 12.000 euros... (but we are still remembering every day more stuff that was taken, things we had from before and no longer have invoices for, so this value may go up more.)

Everything recent was BRAND NEW in packaging or used once or twice...

As you can imagine, we're devastated and don't know how to come up from all of this.

So, would you kindly help us lift back up?

This has been the most expensive lesson of our lives, but not all was bad because we got to get in touch with a lot of emotions and rethink many things...

If you want to see proof of anything, please email us, as we'd rather not share those publicly because this is an open investigation...

PS - We believe we interrupted them mid-robbery because we arrived at an unusual time for us to be there... there was also a suspicious car with 2 women on the phone on the main road, half blocking the entrance to our path. We believe they were scouts and warned the thieves to take off when we arrived, abandoning some metal beams on the ground.

PS2 - We started a YT channel to document all of the transformations, with the good and the bad; we just never expected to launch it based on this happening.

We were holding back on releasing videos until the ground container was finished to avoid all of this hell... The channel will be multi-lingual, but it's still in Portuguese for now, but we'll make a video in English for our English-speaking friends.

PS3 - The police were called; they suspect who did it, but can't prove it. They say it will be almost impossible to retrieve our stuff. Also, even if they do, they can only return it after the case is closed in court, which could take a year or more.

PS4 - may our experience serve as an example to loner off-griders to be better prepared!!