From Spirit to Stack: How Rochelle Stevenson Is Building a Healing Platform with AI and Web3

By The Barefoot DevJuly 18, 2025
Walking the PathRochelle Stevenson

In a world where most tech stories begin with venture capital and coding bootcamps, Rochelle’s story begins with something different: spirit.

Rochelle Stevenson is a writer, healer, and founder of SOLAS COPIA Temple of LIGHT—a nonprofit devoted to sound healing, spiritual retreats, and holistic therapies rooted in ancestral wisdom. She’s never worked in tech. But today, she’s teaching herself how to bring these experiences online, build digital tools, and explore new models for sustainable growth using emerging technology.

This isn’t just about learning to code. It’s about reclaiming sovereignty over your vision.


🌱 A Vision Rooted in Healing

Rochelle’s goal is as bold as it is beautiful: to build a digital temple that supports holistic healing in the physical world.

Through SOLAS COPIA Temple of LIGHT, she’s designing spiritual retreats, sound-based wellness sessions, and community-rooted therapies. And she’s not stopping at services—she’s asking bigger questions:

“How do I use Web3 to make these experiences sustainable?”

This exploration of new tools isn’t about hype—it’s about building something sacred that lasts.


💡 From Writer to Blockchain Winner

Rochelle recently won first place in a non-coder blockchain design competition hosted by Story Protocol. Her entry? A 40-page visionary concept that wove together archetypes, alchemy, and retreat design with spiritual intention. The project was a poetic blend of storytelling, systems thinking, and holistic design.

“I just wrote from the heart. I didn’t know code. But I knew how to communicate a vision.”

That clarity of purpose, matched with creative expression, is precisely what the next evolution of the internet needs.


🔧 Learning to Build Without Dependence

Rochelle is also charting her own path into tech—learning to use AI tools, understand APIs, and build interfaces herself. She’s teaching herself how to develop online spaces that support her nonprofit’s mission without being dependent on developers.

“I don’t want to just hand this off to someone else and not know what’s happening. I want to understand it—so I can grow with it.”

This mindset of curiosity and ownership is what sets her journey apart.


🧭 Making Tech Spaces More Inclusive

Rochelle also spoke about how difficult many tech events are for those without a technical background. The language can feel alienating, the sessions too dense—and many brilliant people are left behind because the doors weren’t opened wide enough.

Her story is a reminder that we need better onramps for community-centered innovators—especially those working at the intersection of spirit and technology.


💌 An Invitation to Others Like Rochelle

If you are a:

  • Healer, artist, or spiritual worker trying to understand tech

  • Nonprofit founder navigating growth while building your digital presence

  • Creative visionary looking to bring your ideas online

  • Community builder who believes tech should uplift—not overwhelm

Then you belong here.

Barefoot Dev is here to walk with you—from spirit to stack.


🛠️ What’s Next

We're building resources to support creators like Rochelle:

  • Workshops on AI as a creative assistant and project manager

  • Templates for product specs and nonprofit business plans

  • Open-source starter kits for wellness-focused platforms

  • A collective blog to amplify your stories and help others follow your path

And most importantly, we're building a network of people who share knowledge freely, without ego, jargon, or gatekeeping.


✨ Get Involved

Reach out to: john@thebarefoot.dev and..
🛠️ Submit Your Project to be featured on our blog
🎙️ Want to tell your story? Let's record it. We'll transcribe, summarize, and help you turn it into something you can share.

🕯️ Join Our Weekly Circle every Monday from 5:30–6:30 PM — a space to ask questions, share progress, and get support as you build your vision with AI, Web3, and spirit.

This is how we walk each other home—through spirit, code, and community.

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