RE: The Amish
We had Amish people around us where I grew up in Ohio, great people in my opinion. Just ask them politely, the worst that will happen is they will politely tell you no and that will be the end of it. They won't hold a grudge or anything. I don't know that they would want money, but you could offer to help them out in other ways like help them with a project or something. You could actually learn a lot from them, some of them are excellent craftsman. Just remember to mind your manners around them.
Paul