Installing ruby on linux mint 18

Hello all.

I want to install ruby in a certain folder, and by using configure's
PREFIX and EXECPREFIX, etc., keep the installation all contained in this
folder. For instance a folder on my desktop, called Ruby, e.g.
~/Desktop/Ruby

I tried both,

$ svn co http://svn.ruby-lang.org/repos/ruby/trunk ruby

and

$ svn co http://svn.ruby-lang.org/repos/ruby/branches/ruby_2_3

but I kept running into errors about not finding header files like
ruby.h. So it was suggested I do

apt-get install rubyX rubyX-dev

but I really want it all self-contained in the folder on my desktop,
much like Anaconda/Python is.

So how do I install the equivalent of rubyX and rubyX-dev (via apt) in
my Desktop folder using git or svn?

Thanks much!
Brett