Build-It-Yourself Labs

Build‑It‑Yourself Labs

Guided, Hands‑On Labs to Build Your Own Digital Freedom Stack

Price: Starting from $3,000 per month
First Lab Month (with consulting credit): $1,000
Includes a dedicated VAPA Project Assistant – FREE (valued at $1,000)

Build‑It‑Yourself Labs are for people and teams who want real control of their infrastructure—websites, services, AI systems, private clouds—but still want an experienced architect at their side.

In the Lab, you are the builder. We provide the patterns, technology stack, and daily expert support. You leave not only with a working platform, but with the skills and understanding to maintain and extend it yourself—outside the Big Tech surveillance umbrella.

What It Is

This is a guided technical residency where you design and build your own Digital Freedom stack, with our help. You can:

  • Build your actual production platform, or
  • Build a prototype / reference platform in our Lab environment and then replicate it into your own infrastructure.

You decide how hands‑on you want to be:

  • Be involved in every step from setting up hosting, hardening servers, and deploying services,
    or
  • Start from a pre‑built, hardened platform that we prepare, and focus your time on content, workflows, and customization.

Either way, the goal is the same: you end up with a sovereign platform you understand, not a black box controlled by someone else.

What You Can Build in a Lab

A Lab can be tailored around many types of Digital Freedom projects, for example:

  • A Sovereign Website Stack (static/SSG, headless CMS, or decentralized/IPFS/Tor presence)
  • A Private Cloud for files, calendars, and collaboration, detached from Big Tech
  • A Local or Hybrid AI System (VAPA‑integrated workflows, local models for sensitive data)
  • A Hardened Hosting Environment (offshore VPS, bunker‑style hosting, secure tunneling)

We focus on architecture, tools, and patterns so you can reuse what you’ve learned for future projects.

Parallel & Private Builds

For additional privacy and operational security, we can design the Lab so that:

  • You build and learn using a Lab platform we provide, while
  • In parallel, you (or your trusted people) replicate the same stack on your own infrastructure that we never see.

This way, the Lab platform is effectively a training and staging environment, and your “real” site or system is deployed in a separate, private environment fully under your control.

What’s Included

Each Lab engagement includes:

  • Daily consulting in your secure consulting room
    Message‑based support with a guaranteed response time (see SLA). You can ask questions, share logs/config snippets, and get unblocked quickly.
  • Weekly 30‑minute Interactive Lab Call
    On your preferred privacy‑respecting medium (video, voice, or secure messaging) to review progress, troubleshoot, and plan the next steps of the build.
  • Agreed Technology Stack Provided
    We help you choose and then supply the stack you need, for example:
    • Web hosting and deployment patterns
    • Required software and applications
    • Example configurations based on Virtual Webmaster Services patterns
      You never have to expose sensitive project content—we concentrate on the infrastructure and mechanics.
  • VAPA Project Assistant – FREE (valued at $1,000)
    You receive a dedicated VAPA assistant trained on:
    • Your Lab’s architecture, stack, and build plan
    • Key commands, workflows, and maintenance procedures
    • Relevant DFA patterns and best practices
    This assistant runs under your control and becomes your ongoing guide for:
    • Looking up how specific parts of your platform were configured
    • Getting reminders and checklists for maintenance tasks
    • Exploring safe extensions or modifications to your stack
    The VAPA assistant is yours to keep after the Lab ends, with no ongoing fee required to use it in your own environment.
  • Jogger Digital Freedom Coaching Subscription
    Included for the duration of your Lab, to support your broader privacy and digital freedom journey.

Onboarding & Pricing

All Labs start with our Digital Freedom Consulting – General package:

  • Step 1 – Consulting Package ($1,000)
    We review your idea, map your goals and constraints, and confirm the Lab is the right fit. We also define your initial stack and scope.
  • Step 2 – Decide to Proceed
    At the end of the consulting phase, both you and DFA decide whether to proceed with a Lab engagement and, if so, what the first month will focus on.
  • Step 3 – Memo of Understanding
    We agree on a concrete scope and draft a short Memo of Understanding that defines:
    • What we will build in the Lab
    • What “success” looks like for the first month
    • How responsibilities are split between DFA and you
  • Step 4 – Lab Commencement & First Month Pricing
    • Standard Lab pricing starts from $2,000 per month.
    • Your initial $1,000 consulting fee is credited toward the first Lab month.
    • This makes your first Lab month effectively $1,000.
    • The first Lab month starts when we begin actively building your platform (architecture, provisioning, deployment, etc.). All that build time is part of the Lab, not a separate hidden fee.

Subsequent Lab months are charged at the agreed from $2,000/month rate, depending on the complexity and intensity of ongoing work.

After the Lab: Ongoing Support Options

Once your Lab engagement finishes, you have several options to continue support at the level you choose:

  • VAPA Virtual Webmaster (VW)
    Upgrade to or add a VAPA Virtual Webmaster tuned specifically for long‑term website or platform maintenance, content workflows, and security reminders.
  • Coaching Packages ($1,000/month)
    • VAPA Coaching to deepen your skills in building and running your own AI‑powered expert systems.
    • Digital Privacy Coaching to harden your broader digital life and organizational practices.
  • Custom Ongoing Package
    If you need a blend of maintenance, periodic consulting, and new feature development, we can design a custom retainer around your stack and threat model.
  • Ad‑Hoc Consulting with Loyalty Discount
    As a past Lab customer, you can use our Digital Freedom Consulting – General service on an ad‑hoc basis with a 25% discount off our published hourly rate.

The intent is simple: the Lab gets you self‑sufficient, and these options are there if and when you need extra help—on your terms.

SLA / Timelines

  • 24‑hour response time for message‑based communication
    (We aim to be faster; 24 hours is the guaranteed maximum.)
  • Weekly 30‑minute Interactive Lab Call
    On your preferred secure platform.
  • Full agreed stack provided for the Lab build.
  • Access to DFA resources, including your dedicated VAPA Project Assistant and Jogger Digital Freedom Coaching, for the duration of your Lab.

DFA is an association of professional IT specialists dedicated to digital freedom. We maintain a network of technical experts available to implement client projects, offering a wide range of services including web development, coding, system hardening, and security testing.

To ensure seamless delivery, DFA sources the necessary technical resources from within our members and appoints a dedicated project manager. This DFA Representative serves as your primary point of contact, coordinating all resources and overseeing the project from start to finish.