Yvonne Shortt always thought of herself as a creative person but not so much a handy person.
"When a man has a problem with installing piping, he calls his friend. Who does a women call?" said Yvonne Shortt, the founder of the Rego Park Green Alliance.
Shortt is the founder of the non-profit organization Rego Park Green Alliance.
Her latest mission is to empower women by giving them the tools they need to succeed. And it's all for free.
Women will learn how to construct a house by starting small. It’s called the "tiny house."
"I wanted to do a project where I could build my own confidence in building and I know that there are other women who feel the same way I do so couldn't we make it a community project where we are all building our confidence together," Shortt added.
The women in the program will start from the ground up.
First, they'll learn how to use saws and drills. Then, they will be taught how to install flooring and basic plumbing before moving on to construct the final project.
"To have that confidence in ourselves, it's very important and we need to have confidence and be proud of who we are," said Fahima Chowdhury, a volunteer with the project.
Volunteers will not start building the tiny house until May, but the design process is well underway.
It will be 140-square-feet and will be equipped with a bathroom, kitchen and loft bed.
And while it could be used as a living space, they plan to use it as a creative studio.
"We're going to bring it around and show people what we've done. We want to invite people in for a dialogue around tiny houses and creative spaces," said Shortt.
Once construction begins, the project will only take about 5 weeks to complete.
For more information on how to get involved, you can visit www.regoparkgreenalliance.org