Original subtitles

[Matt] Holy smokes.

What am I looking at here?

A lava tube.

Is there a way to get down in there?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Lava tubes are made by lava flowing through the ground.

And there's tons of volcanic activity

right here on this part of the island.

You've had a lot of experience with lava?

Really?

It's pretty dangerous.

[Matt] The Big Island is wild.

[Marty] At first glance, the Big Island of Hawaii is a paradise.

Punch it!

[Misty] But there's this whole other set of challenges

that you wouldn't even imagine.

Living so close to the volcano has created incredible difficulties.

[Misty] That's lava rock.

[Marty] There's not a drop of water here.

Feral hogs are destroying and devastating this homestead.

Let's lift it up.

[Marty] They're all invested.

They all work every single day.

[Misty] Good job.

[Marty] What we do is either gonna make or break this homestead.

[animal snorting]

[Matt speaking]

[narrator] Marty Raney, master builder and stonemason.

[Marty] I don't see problems on homesteads.

I see challenges.

[narrator] Daughter Misty, garden and food preservation expert.

[Misty] I believe you can grow food anywhere.

[narrator] And son Matt, skilled craftsman and predator protection.

[Matt] Wildlife is a constant threat,

but I draw the line between their home and your homestead.

[narrator] Together, they use Alaskan knowhow...

-Let's find some power! -[woman] Yeah!

...and ingenuity...

[man] It's perfect!

...to save the off-grid dreams

of desperate homesteaders.

[Marty] We work every second we can,

trying to help complete strangers.

That's who we are.

Right now, we're driving across the island,

and there's a big volcano on each side.

[Misty] When you look around, there's lava fields for acres.

So when it comes to growing anything, It's pretty problematic.

We visited homesteads in Hawaii before.

And when it comes to the Big Island, don't be fooled

because this is a tough place to homestead.

[object blaring]

[narrator] Having rescued families in the state before,

the Raneys have unmatched experience

with Hawaii's unique obstacles.

And now, they've responded to a call for help

on the southeast side of the Big Island,

situated between two active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea,

where recent eruptions have covered the land in jagged volcanic rock

and the air in deadly vog and acid rain.

The fierce power of nature has created historic droughts,

trade winds reaching 25 miles per hour

and invasive predators like wild boar and mongoose.

It's here, facing overwhelming difficulties from Mother Nature,

where the Ridgely family's homesteading dream threatens to dry up.

I'm Annie Ridgely,

and I live here on this 80-acre macadamia nut farm.

We're here on the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

And I have lived here with my four kids for four years.

Having a sustainable farm, where I live off-grid,

homeschooling my kids and producing macadamia nuts

for sale at a local farmer's market has been my dream.

But it's been really tough

because I wasn't doing it alone when I first came.

Over a year ago, I was separated, and now divorced.

On top of all that, Mother Nature has been a challenge.

We have a lot of droughts during the dry season.

This last season, we didn't have enough water

for the animals or the garden.

I am nestled right in between two volcanoes.

North of me is Kilauea and Mauna Loa is behind me.

And Mauna Loa just erupted last year.

A big risk of the volcano is the vog,

where the emissions from the volcano mix with the rain,

and it creates sulfuric acid rain.

Makes it really hard to grow things.

Especially in the flowering stage,

it'll just kill everything.

We've tried every year to plant a garden and grow our food.

But there's nowhere on the homestead that doesn't have lava rock.

One of the huge issues are the disease-carrying pigs.

They tear up the gardens,

they tear out the topsoil that I do have.

They're a danger to the children

when they're out playing.

And they've completely ripped open and gutted our dogs.

My dad came when I first got separated with my husband to come and live with me

and help me keep things operating.

But he had a heart issue,

so he's not here helping me anymore.

And now, I'm trying to do everything alone.

Raneys, I'm not sure how much longer we can survive

if you don't come help us.

[Misty] Hi.

Oh, my goodness! Look at all these beautiful children.

-What's your name? -Annie.

I'm just--

[voice breaking] I'm just grateful you're here.

Are you a single mom?

Yeah.

So, I can't relate to that.

But I can relate to raising four kids, two boys and two girls.

[Annie] I hadn't anticipated

having all of that emotion take over.

Just knowing that the Raneys are willing and able to help, uh, was overwhelming.

[Marty] I couldn't imagine doing that on our own.

Not to mention having this.

-I mean, how many acres do you have? -Eighty.

-Eighty acres. -How many?

Eighty acres.

I'd be crying, too.

[Marty] And who is this guy?

My name is Matt.

-[Marty] Matt, nice to meet you. -Family friend.

[Marty] How is it you know this beautiful family?

-So our kids dance hula together. -[Marty] I love it.

-So are you going to be able to work with us all week? -Yes, sir.

-[Misty] So you've called us here for a reason. -Yup.

I lived in Alaska for 20 years,

and I spent that time learning how to live

a real natural life off the land.

After 20 years of being there,

the harsh conditions were really starting to play a toll on me and my family.

And so the thought of being in Hawaii

and being able to have this year-round lifestyle

is really what we're wanting to do.

I thought that I knew how to homestead,

and it was going to be really easy,

but I thought I knew more than I did.

I also didn't know that I was going to be facing challenges alone.

My husband and I moved here together,

and about a year ago, things started to go downhill.

And my ex-husband said,

"I don't wanna have anything to do with the farm anymore."

And as we separated, getting a divorce has been

one of the hardest things I've ever done.

But what I love about what I already created here

is that my kids are already into this lifestyle.

Having 80 acres is a lot to manage,

and I'm trying to be strong for my kids.

Just trying to maintain this lifestyle for them is important.

I love to work with my siblings.

And I know it's super important

for my mom that we're so invested.

[Annie] We got some ripe ones here.

Their love for nature, their respect for the environment,

their love for one another,

I do want to carry that forward in their life.

And this homestead is my dream,

and I think it's worth saving.

[Misty] So show me the garden.

[Annie] Yeah. I'll show you the latest.

[Misty] What the--

When's the last time you cleared all this back?

Probably... I want to say six weeks.

-[Misty] No. -Yes.

So here's another block.

Oh, my gosh.

This is like The Secret Garden.

-Yeah. -This is The Secret Garden.

[Annie] The idea was was this would be super manageable.

I would just grow things on the ground.

But the biggest challenge, first of all, was the lava.

-Okay. -So there isn't much topsoil.

This is lava rock.

Like, it's just like walking on concrete.

[Annie] So, I made some boxes.

But then the drought.

-Yeah, no water. -Having that drought season

was just really tough for us. Yeah.

And then when it does rain,

if the volcano is currently erupting,

the emissions from the volcano makes vog,

and then the rain's really acidic,

and so it'll come on to these plants and burn them.

That's crazy.

[narrator] Vog, or volcanic smog,

is a hazard associated with Hawaii,

and the specific gases

emitted from volcanic emissions mixed with moisture.

Once it rains, the rainfall passing through the vog

creates acid rain,

and can cause chemical burns on plants.

Unless treated, water supplies tainted by sulfuric acid

can lead to increased risk of heart attacks and respiratory problems.

[Annie] This is about a 15,000-gallon catchment system.

[Misty] Okay. And so during the drought,

how much rain were you able to collect?

We weren't collecting any.

-You didn't even have water yourself? -No, we didn't have water.

-No, yeah. Yeah. -Okay.

I've been trying to keep everything

really hopeful for the kids' sake.

-[Misty] Yeah. -And almost putting on a front every day.

So it's a little bit like getting kicked while you're down.

[Misty] I feel bad for Annie.

She's got a lot of kids to take care of.

And because she's a single mom,

she puts on the happy face, but I can see through it.

My time will be such a waste if I don't figure out

how I can best help Annie

and not add more to her plate.

-What does this homestead do for water? -Catchment.

[Marty] And it never really gets into drought season or something weird?

[Ortega] We just-- We had one this past year.

The drought was, like, eight months long.

-What? -Everything was dead around here.

[Marty] It rains a lot in this region,

more than most places on planet Earth,

and you're telling me there's no water

-anywhere to be found on this homestead? -Yes, sir.

She had to choose, you know,

"All right, kids, you're going to shower today

because we've got to water the lettuce."

There is a ag-- Agricultural water line.

Tell me about that water line.

It comes from an old reservoir

that was built back in the 1800s.

And on the other side of her--

The top of her property, there's an access to the line.

[Marty] Hold on, hold on.

-Is this homestead tapped into it? -No.

There's not enough line to make it down.

It's about a mile-and-a-half from here.

I haven't been on this homestead for one hour.

Guess what I just discovered?

This family doesn't have water.

-Can we go over there? -Yes, we can.

[Marty] This family needs water.

[Ortega] Right through here.

And to this day, the water line,

the system is still there.

Why don't we tap into it and get free water

that will never run out for Annie.

You're telling me, in the 1800s...

-[Ortega] Mm-hm. -...this water system was put in?

-Yes, sir. -Where is the source of it, please?

Up on the higher slope of Mauna Loa.

-So, off the volcano? -Mm-hm.

There's lava tubes on the side of the mountain,

and then water is coming out, so they collected that

and run it straight to this.

More importantly, it's uncontaminated,

-beautiful water. -Mm-hm.

And it's okay if we tap into that water?

[Ortega] That's what I'm being told.

[Marty] What else?

So these two trees are very dangerous

because, as you can see, the weight of itself broke it off,

just from being so big.

There are two massive Albizia trees.

And they're right next door to the water line.

And branches rain down from above due to the high winds,

and that can do damage to that ag line.

I'll tell you right now, those trees gotta go.

Do you know what that is?

[Joy] That is pig remnants.

[Matt] The pigs are getting comfortable,

and you're seeing them around your house a lot.

We might have to do something about that while we're here.

Well, we all know how to climb trees.

We've had to do that before.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on.

You're telling me everybody on this homestead

has had to run up a tree to get away from feral hogs?

-Yes. -Yeah.

-So you see them coming in closer now. -Yeah.

Well, maybe that could be the reason

why you would want to start hunting them.

Having the skills to be able to take down a pig,

I think, is really important.

I knew it wasn't going to be long

before we found some evidence of these wild hogs,

and that tells me we need a place of refuge.

I'm gonna teach them everything I know about hunting,

and how to defend their livestock,

and try to actually use the pigs as a food source.

I think I have some pretty good ideas of how I can help.

But I got to tell you, it's going to be a real challenge.

I've never met a homesteader ever

with this much responsibility on their shoulders.

Hawaii had an unusually long drought.

There's not a drop of water here,

but there's a water source used by every farmer in this valley,

except this farm.

We're going to see if we can get it from point A to point Annie.

[Misty] When you think Hawaii,

you think it's going to be easy.

And Annie, she moved here and was like,

"I'm going to live the dream."

But I think the dream is way too overwhelming at this point.

Annie says there's about an inch of topsoil here.

So she had these raised beds.

They're overtaken by the jungle.

You can't even see them.

Mongoose, these wild hogs.

I mean, when it comes to gardening,

she's really struggling on the side of this volcano.

I walked around with these four amazing children,

and the feral hogs are definitely a problem.

Everybody on this homestead has been chased or charged.

-Wow. -Oh, my gosh.

Okay?

And the problem's getting worse and worse.

I don't think she's living the dream right now in this moment.

More of a nightmare.

Let's go tell them them.

-Hey, guys, let's have a chat. -[Annie] Hey.

You guys came a long ways from Alaska to homestead in Hawaii.

And it's pretty daunting to see the amount of effort it takes to be successful.

But even though you guys work every day,

it's still kind of overwhelming, right?

[Joy] Mm-hm.

-That said, there's a water ag line... -[Misty] Yeah.

...that's running at the top of your property.

Would it help you to get that water from there to here?

-Yes. -Okay.

[Misty] Here's the deal.

I think there are some missing pieces to your gardening, farming puzzle.

-Yes. -And I think it's because

you're on the side of an active volcano.

What would be the best thing we could do is find a local farmer

that is successfully growing,

and we could, kind of, pick his brain

and see how he's doing it.

-I appreciate that. -[Misty] Yeah.

This group of kids, they're so integrated into everything

that this property is about.

The main takeaway is this homestead is under threat from wild hogs.

But I also am really into the idea

of using the feral hogs as a food source.

Yeah.

[Matt] And making a safe area,

where you could hunt them with a bow.

-Cool. All right. -[Marty] Raise your hand if you want to help us.

-All right. -Hey, hey, hey.

Okay. On that note,

-as the sun comes up behind Kilauea... -[Annie] Yup.

...we're going to be ready to work.

-Incredible. -[Marty] Fair enough?

-Thank you. -Incredible.

[Marty] And that means you, too.

-See you later. -[Misty] See you guys in the morning.

-See you. -[Annie] Thank you.

[Marty] Don't thank us yet.

[narrator] It's the first full day of the rescue

on the Ridgely family's eighty-acre homestead.

[rooster crowing]

[narrator] And this morning...

-Who is this? -That's Gabriel.

...Matt and the Ridgely children

investigate the property's dwindling livestock.

Since we moved here, I've had about 60 chickens,

but we had an issue with wild pigs.

And then there were so many of them

the Obi and Rye would just catch them,

so we started throwing them in a pen.

Who "harvested" or dispatched the pig?

-Me, of course. -[Matt] Really?

You've harvested a pig,

and you know how to field dress it and butcher it?

Yup.

Wow.

[narrator] A few miles away...

-[Misty] We made it. -[Annie] Awesome.

...Misty and Annie visit a neighbor

who's mastered the art of gardening

in the region's unforgiving terrain.

-Hi. -[Don] Hi.

-Aloha. Good, Misty. -[Misty] How's it going? Don?

Yes, Don.

[Misty] I've spent a lot of time in Hawaii,

and we visited homesteads in Hawaii before.

So we know Hawaii has different climates

even just a couple of miles down the road.

What a beautiful place.

I'm glad you appreciate it.

[Misty] So to have this kind of local knowledge at our fingertips is perfect.

The main reason why we're here is we're trying to figure out

how do you garden on the side of a volcano.

We'd love to just take a tour, pick your brain.

And hopefully, by the end of today,

-we're coming up with a plan of what we want to do. -Great.

-[Misty] Okay, let's go. -Right this way.

[Misty] So pretty.

Wow.

[Don] Well, Misty, this is the beginning of my vegetable garden.

[Misty] Cool.

So I see that you have some fencing up.

[Don] I use two different types of fence.

-The hog fence to keep the pigs out. -[Misty] Mm-hm.

[Don] And welded wire

to keep out some of the smaller pests.

And I've mounded up this lava rock barrier on the bottom of the fence

so that if pigs are on the outside,

they try, they're not gonna get in here.

Okay, I like it. That's really good.

-This is a pretty small footprint. -[Don] Yes.

I've lowered the ground almost 18 inches...

-[Misty] Yeah. -...because that's the space

that all the big lava rocks were holding.

-[Misty] Oh. -So I had to get those out.

-Because you can't spade into a ground with lava rock. -[Misty] No.

Let's look at some of the plants you're growing.

These might be the most shallow

raised beds I've ever seen. Look at these guys.

You've got, like, two by sixes.

-[Annie] Right. -[Misty] You've got a bed out of chain.

-And it's working. -It's working.

You've made with such minimal soil,

you've made it work.

And, like, look at these veggies.

Like, they look great.

What I really appreciate about Don is

he's using materials at hand, right?

In this case, lava rock.

He uses it in the soil building,

he's using it with retaining walls,

he's using it in the garden beds.

He's, like, mounding it up for barriers.

If there is a way to use a lava rock, he's doing it.

Because guess what? That's all you have.

Don, what I love is that you're not fighting what's here.

You created a space using the lava rock.

And it's been really helpful

-knowing that it doesn't have to be big... -Yeah, yeah.

...to feed your family.

The garden has been really challenging.

But to be able to learn from mistakes,

so my family is able to eat healthy

and we can be fully self-sufficient here on the homestead

in a way that's manageable for me to do

is really incredible.

[Misty] I'm so grateful that we came here.

Thanks for taking time out of your day.

I know you're a busy man, clearly.

-So we'll let you get back to work. -Okay.

[narrator] Back on the homestead...

It's a big one.

Okay, folks, here comes the cavalry.

[narrator] To take down the massive Albizia trees,

Marty calls in a local miller,

who has helped the Raneys on the Big Island before.

Matt and Matt, meet Jeff Anderson.

Here we are.

Holy moly! I love it.

Okay, I like it. Bring it back.

Okay. Go for it.

[Marty] Let's try to go up.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on.

I like that.

You did a good job. I appreciate it.

What'd you bring us?

Once you get this thing fired up,

you're not gonna have any problem.

[Marty] So we're looking at two big Albizia trees,

and we don't travel with any saws big enough.

So I knew you did, so I gave him a call.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Is this gonna be big enough?

[Ortega] Albizia trees roll with that wind all year long

until, you know, a few short months,

the wind changes directions and it blows the other way,

and it'll break branches off very, very quickly.

Pretty dangerous.

So I'm really glad Marty's here to help my friend out.

[Marty] This is the agricultural line right here.

We're gonna deal with it one step at a time,

so we're gonna try to roll the ag line

back out of the way of that

ominous, looming threat to the homestead and to the water.

[narrator] Native to Africa, Albizia trees can grow up to 15 feet a year,

making them one of the fastest-growing trees in the world.

Due to their wind-dispersed pods and disease susceptibility,

they are categorized as an invasive species in the United States

and can quickly take over farms and open spaces.

These mammoth omnidirectional trees

are especially dangerous in Hawaii's tropical climate,

where they outgrow their root systems

and can reach heights over 150 feet.

That's a beast, and it's quite a leaner.

So looking at it from this vantage point,

it tells me that it's going to crack off with it

-once it starts going. -[Jeff] Oh, yes.

Regardless of that wind, we don't have time to spare.

We're going to go for it.

[narrator] Marty will first bring down the two largest Albizia trees

causing safety issues

and preventing him from tapping into the nearby ag line.

Next, he'll attach unused water hosing to the ag line

and run it a mile to the home

so they can have running water for years to come.

[Marty] All right.

This is probably not a good sign.

[Ortega] No, it's not.

Someone's run a chainsaw bar in there...

-[Ortega] In there. -...and probably poisoned the tree.

-Yes, they did. -[Marty] The plot thickens

because now we don't know

how weak or unstable this tree is.

It's not very common for a homesteader

to cut his own Albizia trees down.

Some pour in some poison and wait for the tree to die.

But eventually, those massive trees will crash down

and destroy everything in their path.

Ready?

[chainsaw whirring]

[Marty] We need to cut this huge tree down

before we can get started on the water line.

[chainsaw whirring]

[tree pops]

What's that noise?

-What? -[Jeff] Get out.

Yeah, get out of the tree. Are you stuck?

-[Marty] What was that noise? -[Jeff] Relaxing.

The tree relaxing, yeah.

It's popping. It's just pretty reactionary wood.

-So it's relaxing a little bit with a pop. -I don't like it.

Here we go, here we go, here we go.

Hold the saw, please. Scalpel!

[chainsaw whirring]

[Marty] We're trying to cut a huge tree down,

and it's almost twenty feet in circumference.

There's no stopping now.

We've got to whittle that wedge out of here

and get this thing on the ground.

The canopy of leaves catch all that wind,

and they compound the risk.

In fact, if I was a smarter man,

I would not cut this tree down.

But here we go.

Look out.

You ready for this?

[Jeff] Give it a try.

Don't go too deep.

You all right?

That's the most dangerous tree

-I've ever cut in my life. -[Jeff] That's the most dangerous--

-Look what it did. -[Jeff] I know.

-Oh, this is the rot. -[Marty] It's complete--

It's completely rotten. Look at it.

-Nothing at all was holding up. -[Jeff] No.

[Marty] We didn't get into it 12 inches

before it just said, "We're going"

because of this.

Rotten.

The most dangerous tree on planet Earth is a dead tree.

Number one danger tree on the ground.

Number two is next.

But I'm fully aware that it's most likely rotten in the middle.

Here we go again.

Walk into my life.

[narrator] After learning how to successfully grow on volcanic terrain,

Misty and Annie get to work on building a new garden.

[Misty] Hi.

Annie was a successful gardener in Alaska,

but when she moved to Hawaii, all the challenges were here.

And it's one of those things that she hasn't been able to tackle on her own.

So I want to help her feed herself and her family and be self-sufficient.

-We learned a lot at Don's. -Yeah.

I think one of the things that I really liked were the pile,

the mounds of rocks to keep the hogs out.

But before we even get started,

we have to bushwhack with the skid steer

-to create the space. -Right.

[Misty] Problem is what is preventing this garden

from not looking like this a year from now?

Well, we talked about the lava rock

and we said, not only does it keep the pigs out,

but it kind of creates a weed barrier

and I visualize that here.

-[Misty] Yeah, me too. -[Annie] Okay.

[narrator] Misty will create an elevated garden

using the homestead's lava rocks to keep predators and weeds from encroaching.

She'll first build raised beds

utilizing downed trees from the property,

adding topsoil to promote growth.

Then she'll install a caging barrier with plastic sheeting

to not only ward off additional animals,

but to also protect the produce from acid rain and volcanic gas.

[Misty] We don't want a repeat of what's already happened on this homestead

with all of these garden beds that have been completely overtaken by the jungle.

So I wanna give Annie something that is attainable on a daily basis,

and it isn't this big burden.

There we go. Keep going. Yep.

It was super humbling to walk around with Misty

and show her all of my garden fails.

We really try to control the controllables here,

so I feel incredibly grateful Misty's here to help me.

Annie wasn't kidding, there is only about an inch of topsoil.

And underneath that inch is the blue lava,

which is kind of my worst nightmare.

[narrator] When molten lava chills,

the outer layer's minerals crystallize, turning dark.

However, once the portion of the interior flow is exposed,

a blue tint appears, giving it the name blue lava rock.

Seen as the bane of contractors and builders

because of its difficulty to break through,

the rock requires expensive drilling and blasting to penetrate.

However, the material is also highly sought after

due to its strength and structural integrity.

[Misty] I think this is a perfect footprint

because we wanna keep it small,

we wanna get it to a place where it's not gonna overgrow every year,

and I do think we should do raised beds

and use all the rock we can find.

The problem is I don't see a ton right here,

so I need to go hop in the skid-steer and go look for rock,

and we'll meet back here in a little bit.

-Sounds great. -Okay.

[Matt] All right, kids.

Oh, gang?

All right, gang.

No kids anymore.

[narrator] In the Ridgely family's woods,

Matt tests the kids on their hunting skills

before he can determine what type of hunting blind to build.

What I really want to do is test Obi's skills

with a compound bow.

Because he told me

he's already field dressed and butchered one of these wild hogs.

Have you ever shot a compound bow before?

No, I have not.

[narrator] Invented in 1966, the compound bow is a great alternative

to traditional recurve bows for young people.

This is due to a system of cables and pulleys

which require the user to exert far less energy

when pulling the bow string back to full draw called the draw weight.

And because of their power and accuracy,

they're often a go-to for game hunters.

[Matt] So, check this out.

Stand sideways.

You just wanna pull back, try to get your chest involved and your back.

Just do a full on, like... [mock grunt]

That's lesson number one.

Okay, let's see what you got.

Obi has already killed a pig,

but face-to-face, ground level.

And it's way more likely to end in disaster.

Hold out your bow. Stand comfortably.

So I'm gonna teach him how to use a compound bow

because they allow you to have way more stopping power

and a better advantage

to be able to take down animals from a greater distance.

Pull. Okay, easy.

Breathe, get comfortable.

Now aim a little bit, and when you're ready, let it loose.

Nice. Wow!

No cheering?

-[kids cheer] -[Matt laughs]

[Obi] I learned a lot from my archery lesson with Matt

'cause I never used a compound bow before.

So it was a lot of help.

Nice. What do you think?

I think he did really good for the first time ever using that bow.

I think you did amazing.

Based on Obi's test,

I want to build something of a platform up off the ground

that can be used as a hunting stand

and put some much needed elevation and distance

to keep Obi safe, and all these children,

when they start hunting on their property.

And that's what we're gonna do next,

-we just gotta find that place. -Okay.

[Marty] Here we go again, boys.

[narrator] It's the third day of the Raney's rescue of the Ridgely homestead,

and knowing the Albizia trees have internal rot.

If that's halfway sound, it might just go with the cut.

-Yeah. -But if it's rotten, it's--

It's going quicker.

[narrator] Marty prepares to down the last tree

that's standing in the way of the waterline.

Do I wanna cut this tree down? Nope.

Do I wanna leave it

for a beautiful little homesteader with four kids?

No.

[chainsaw buzzing]

[Marty] Someday, that tree is gonna come down,

it's going to smash the waterline,

bury it with a huge canopy of limbs and branches.

So here we go. Tree number two.

Brutal.

We grabbed that water line, we pulled it all the way back,

thinking we were gonna be out of the path of that monstrosity

when it came crashing down.

We were within 6 inches. That's it.

I can't believe it, I thought we had at least 20 feet.

So we're getting closer.

Big trees on the ground.

We'll cut it up, we'll source it,

we'll try to save what we can and then put in a water line.

[dogs barking]

[narrator] While materials are being gathered

to connect the ag line to the homestead...

-[Marty] Hello! -Hey!

-How's it going? -[Marty] Good.

[narrator] Misty and Annie turn to Marty to help fortify the garden perimeter.

What are you gonna do with these rocks? What's happening?

We wanted to start garden beds with lava rock here.

We're on the big island of Hawaii.

Obviously, there's a lot of lava rock here.

So how are we gonna use it?

We have enough to build a wall,

which will help act as a weed barrier and a defensible space

to hopefully fight back some of these critters.

I would love to be able to start with the retaining wall,

kind of to a V.

The rock wall is gonna keep the vines and the grass and the jungle from coming in.

It'd be real easy to spray an organic herbicide around rocks

'cause you're not spraying it on the plants.

Weed whack around the rocks, essentially.

Okay, I'll tell you what I'll do.

We will go both directions

and then we'll start looking at our rock and see how far it goes.

-Yeah. -Okay.

-Let's go, and thank you. -Thank you.

-[Misty] Whoo! Thank you. -[Marty] All right.

[Misty] Okay, now can I grab two?

Yes! Whoo-hoo!

Okay, that was some pretty good skid-steer driving.

[Misty cheering]

[Annie] Not having a partner in the process of homesteading changed the game for me.

Watch out, please. Here we go.

[Annie] A lot of my financial resources

went to hiring people for their help

because I didn't know how to homestead in Hawaii.

I had no idea there would be so many challenges

with being so close to the volcano.

Watch out. Big rock.

[Annie] But working with the Raneys has been super empowering

to have more ownership of the homestead.

[Misty cheering]

I finally feel this level of hope,

and it feels like I can actually do this.

[Matt] All right.

Are you ready to do a little bit of scouting on your property?

[Obi] Yeah.

[narrator] With the sun setting on the Ridgely homestead,

Matt and brothers Obi and Rye scout the property's game trails

to find the perfect place to build a hunting blind.

-[Obi] There's a giant pig area where they hang out. -[Rye] Yeah.

[Matt] All right, let's go.

The kids and I are scouting around for pig sign

to find the perfect place to build a tree stand.

We're looking for pigs, we're following their tracks.

[narrator] An estimated 400,000 feral hogs

currently wreak havoc across Hawaii,

often spotted in the countryside

and routing through residential land.

Weighing hundreds of pounds,

these aggressive predators have seen their population explode in recent years

due to frequent breeding.

And with no official eradication program in place,

Hawaiians have taken to trapping or hunting the hogs themselves

[Obi whispering]

[pigs grunting]

[Matt whispering]

[Matt whispering]

We're finding tons of feral hog signs.

There is rooting and digging,

and the only thing we need to find now

is where all that sign is next to the edge of the macadamia nut farm,

and we will have the perfect place to build our hunting blind.

[Matt whispering]

[Obi] I think this space is a good place to hunt

because that is the only spot where pigs can get in

if we were to fence off

and there's always a lot of pigs down there.

[Matt] I think we're done for the day.

Today was pretty exciting.

Now we know the perfect area where we can build the hunting blind

so they can put food on the table.

[narrator] It's day four on the Ridgely's 80-acre Hawaiian homestead.

And this morning...

Okay, I'm still trying to figure out this garden.

[narrator] Misty and Annie get to work on protecting the garden

from another serious threat.

[Misty] Today, I wanna get started

on figuring out that fog and that acid rain

and figuring out

how we're gonna cover the garden beds.

So some kinda hoop house going over each bed

and then I think we just cover 'em?

-Right. -That sound good to you?

-Yeah, sounds great. -Okay.

So we're just rolling this out.

This poly that kind of blocks the acid rain, obviously,

but lets good UV in.

And then we usually just drape it over the hoop

and just like, anchor in a log or a two-by-four.

-[Annie] Yeah, sounds great. -[Misty] Is that okay with you?

Yeah, I love that because then also I can take it off when it's not raining.

-That's what we do. -Okay.

It's like off, on, and it's just really easy.

And you just fold 'em up,

-put 'em in the garage or whatever. -Okay.

What I really appreciate about Annie

is she's this successful mac nut farmer.

She's such a hard worker, she's so capable.

Okay, we're gonna mark it with a rock.

Even though there's been loss, I'm in awe of her.

She's with the kids... At this point, doing it alone.

So to help her overcome all of the challenges of Hawaii

is the ultimate goal.

I'm gonna try to be as straight as I can.

-What is it like raising kids... -Mm-hmm.

four kids on a mac nut farm? What is that like every day?

-Well, I'm also homeschooling. -[Misty] Yeah.

So it's wake up triage.

What has to be done immediately today?

Whether it's fixing a piece of equipment,

or we have a delivery of nuts that need to go out.

And then after school is over, we're doing third shift, work on the farm.

-[Misty] Everyday? -Everyday.

-You just make it work? -I'm just treading water surviving here.

-Yeah. -[both laugh]

So my dad showed up to help 'cause he knew I was alone.

And, like, everything was crumbling.

The dream was crumbling, everything was crumbling,

and he stayed here and he moved in.

And he just kept everything operating, whatever it was,

and just kind of helped me get a little momentum back.

And, um, then he had a heart issue.

Everything is okay, but he's not here helping me anymore.

And, you know, he was supposed to be here this week.

And he's not able to.

So I think I was really emotionally charged when I saw you guys pull up

and your dad got out of the truck, and I just...

He just embodied hope.

Yeah, just... been tough.

Yeah, that's just really hard.

I don't think I realized how much Annie needed us.

-Okay, so I'm gonna start cutting. -Okay.

[Misty] So we need to figure out

how to help Annie as much as we possibly can this week,

so she can be as fully prepared as possible

to handle everything the Big Island throws at her.

Because she deserves it.

-This is our acid rain cover. -Whoo-hoo!

We'll save these, and then we'll shift gears

and figure out how we're gonna build all of these raised beds.

[Annie] Yeah!

Okay, men, here we go.

[narrator] With the Albizia trees cleared,

Marty, Build Foreman Clint, and Annie's friend, Matt,

work together to tap into the ag line

and bring potable water to Annie's home.

The cool thing about this water source,

it was developed in the 1800s.

[Matt] That's how they brought the sugar bales down instead of...

We didn't have equipment back in those days.

Reservoir's still there,

so the person who bought the land

decided to make a ag line for all the farmers

and run a line straight down, anybody can tap into it.

Every farmers on this line except us, right?

-[Matt] Mm-hmm. Yes. -Well...

-Not for long. -We might change that.

I'm trying to get that same water

from that same, exact source to Annie.

So let's get the valve ready and the torch.

Kinda tough getting these in unless you heat 'em first.

Nice. Perfect. Clint?

-You ready? -[Matt] Yep.

[Marty] Shut that water off.

I've never been anywhere in North America

where there was such a cool history with a water source.

There's a macadamia nut farmer right here

that, legally, can tap into that.

That's gonna happen before we leave.

Come Hilo or high water.

-Okay, we're done. -Yep.

[Marty] I'm gonna drag this down.

You're this guy until we get started. Thank you.

Gotcha.

-Clint, punch it. -[engine starts]

Keep it under 50.

[Matt] Watching Annie struggle through the years

with her farm and her gardening, you know, it's kinda tough,

but this waterline, this is gonna be a big help.

As long as we make life a little bit easier for her and what she's doing,

raising four just respectful, beautiful kids.

Here, you got Marty and his whole family come out here.

It warms my heart.

Very few homesteads, that you can run a waterline on top of the ground.

And not be thinking, "How do I keep this from freezing?"

Whoa, whoa. I was getting a kink in the first hole.

-How you doing, boss? -Doing good.

With all this extra heat, once we put water and weight in this,

-it'll just make itself straight. -Amen, brother.

Don't be shy, I'm a professional.

Right now, we're over a half-mile of pipe.

We're not there yet.

Punch it!

-This looks pretty good, right? -Yeah, it's incredible.

[narrator] With the elevated rock wall finished,

Misty turns her attention towards constructing the new garden beds.

We're right in the thick of it.

We've been able to kinda fill up this whole terraced area

with really nice soil.

This garden is taking shape thanks to my dad

and all the hard work Annie's been putting in.

We're at a place now where we're gonna go find a bunch of logs,

rip 'em, and put 'em in place, and those are gonna be the new garden beds.

-This is gonna be our first cut. -Okay.

-Yeah. -Got it right into the mud.

That was good. [grunts] Oh, my gosh. These guys are heavy.

[Misty chuckles]

Oh, no, Annie. Can me and you get it?

Let's see.

-[Misty] Oh, man. -[Annie] Holy cow!

-Oh, my gosh! -That's so heavy!

That's gonna last a really long time.

I'm gonna get the skid-steer.

-Okay. -Okay.

[Misty] Oh, my gosh.

I really like working with wood that comes from the homestead.

And you get a repurposed material.

It takes some effort, right? But in the end, it's worth it.

It'll look amazing and it's free.

Okay. Whoo-hoo.

Misty and I are bucking up some of these silver oaks.

I love the idea of using what we have here.

Like, that's sustainable, that's resourceful, that's frugal.

That's the heart of homesteading.

And they're gonna help us grow some food.

-[Misty] This way. -[grunts]

Yeah.

So we need one more.

-Okay. -Okay.

[Matt] Hey, let's go down here.

[narrator] In the macadamia nut forest...

[Matt] This way. Keep following me.

[narrator] Matt shows the Ridgely kids the ideal spot

to construct the elevated hunting blind.

[Matt] This is it. What's this called?

[kids] A peacock tree.

Uh, I've never heard of a peacock tree before.

Well, it's actually a monkey-pod tree,

but we call it a peacock tree

because peacocks used to roost up here.

[Matt] Wow. Well, that's cool.

And we were just, like, walking through the macadamia nut forest

trying to find a place for a hunting blind

and I was just looking for a better tree.

The macadamia nut trees are amazing,

but you don't wanna build a tree fort in 'em

because they're too soft a wood and they blow down in the crazy winds.

But this tree is super close to the feral pig signs

and I couldn't have imagined a better tree to build a tree stand for hunting.

-Yeah. -Yeah, it's good.

[Matt] With this amazing monkey-pod tree,

I think we really have probably the most epic beginnings

of a tree hunting stand I've ever seen.

Nothing grows underneath it, so it's really open.

We have more than enough space to shoot an arrow

and it's right on the edge of the macadamia nut forest.

This is prime pig territory.

And it's not gonna fall down in the wind. I mean, it's safe.

[Joy] Yeah, it's not gonna fall down.

[Matt] Now, I got one question.

Who wants to climb this tree?

[kids screaming] Me!

Come on!

[narrator] Matt plans to use the monkey-pod tree's wide trunk

as the base of his elevated hunting blind.

With donated lumber, he'll construct multiple platforms,

which will allow the kids a wide angle of fire down below.

A roof will protect the hunters

from Hawaii's unpredictable weather.

And most importantly, the project will teach all the Ridgely children

valuable construction skills.

I'm ready to start building on this thing right now.

Okay? Should we go get all the tools and materials?

[kids] Yes.

This monkey-pod tree is gonna last forever.

It's incredibly strong and it's more than enough height to get off the ground

and keep the kids safe and hunt from.

All we gotta do is get our materials over here

and get some tools and then get to work.

Okay, how's our structural stability over there?

Ready for children?

[narrator] Deep in the property's macadamia nut forest,

Matt and the young homesteaders

make progress building the hunting blind.

I think we're gonna go from the end of this deck

and come diagonally to right here

because we can't support anything.

If you look down at my feet right here,

I mean, I'm basically standing over a cliff right here,

and so the only place I can attach a platform

would be the end of our deck over here, where we have solid ground.

Then we will be able to hunt this entire side of the property.

Grab this tape, pull me to that corner of the deck.

Hold it.

I wanna build an awesome place where the kids can hunt,

but I think it's important that I have all the kids help me

and learn as much as they can to make their dreams a reality.

Get a mark on one side, get a mark on the other side, pull it real tight,

and then snap it.

Great.

Four screws. One, two, three, four.

Got it.

-You ever used a drill? -No.

You haven't used it? Well, guess what?

These drills, they do all the work for you.

Get it in there first.

Okay, now just push straight with a little pressure and let it rip.

It's gonna shake on you a little bit.

More pressure.

Good.

-That was terrifying. -[Matt laughs]

I've never used a drill before,

so I'm really glad I got the opportunity to learn a new skill.

[Matt] Cool.

It's great that me and my siblings

will have a place to be safe from the pigs while we're hunting.

[Matt] Nice.

And it's also super cool that we get to be so involved in the process.

And the best part is this thing is braced.

Joy is getting her hands dirty learning how to use the drill for the first time,

and I gotta say, she's a natural.

Perfection.

Good with the tools, everybody

-[Matt grunts, laughs] -[kids laughing]

[Marty] Hey, bud!

[narrator] By the side of the new garden...

Pull it on down!

[narrator] Marty and Matt Ortega make the final push

to install the newly tapped water line.

We've got enough to get across the road?

[Matt] I think we do.

Clint, what do you think? A foot deep?

That's the old highway, right? The original highway?

Yes.

Okay, well, we're digging through it.

Here we go.

We've been dragging waterline down a mountain for a mile or so,

and now we're at a point where we need to tuck it under the road

and make sure that waterline never gets damaged.

Why?

It's the lifeline for this homestead.

Hey, Matt, let's try it, sir.

I'll jump out and help ya.

Let's see if we can loop this up.

It might work.

Don't let me kink that.

Now, if you see a sharp volcano rock that's gonna pierce into that,

kick it out of the way, but I think we'll just try to use this material.

This homestead is covered with volcanic rock.

That's the material I'm digging out,

and I'm placing a waterline back in the trench.

I got one right there that I don't like, that big one.

Nope.

-That one. -[Marty] Yeah.

I'm putting that same rock back in,

so I have to be careful so that we don't sever or cut that waterline.

This is either gonna make or break the success of this homestead.

I like that.

Lay it in there, please.

Perfect!

[Matt] That's it. That's awesome.

Once we got the water line down,

Marty buried it good with some topsoil and ran it over,

and it's packed tight so Annie can better take care of her garden

instead of having to ration water from her catchment tank.

Everything that Marty has come here to do,

it's been a massive help to this homestead.

[Marty] We made it.

Think we got this in here

-without any kinks or pinch lines? -Yeah.

-You sure? -Oh, yeah.

[Marty] Now there's water here forever.

[Matt] Amazing. That's what she needs.

All right. We got the fittings?

-Yes, we do. -Let's hit it.

[narrator] Across the homestead...

Yeah, this side.

[narrator] Misty and Annie gather vital supplies

to protect the garden beds from predators and acid rain.

[Misty] Talk about a game of Tetris.

Yes! There you go!

Perfect!

So, by no means are we safe

from hogs or acid rain.

So I have an idea

where we can solve both those problems with these things.

-Let's get them over. -[Annie] Awesome.

-Okay, here we go. -Okay.

[Annie] Come. Come on, come on, come on.

The result of trying to homestead

on an active volcano

is that fog and that acid rain and you can see it

pooling up on the tomatoes and rotting them,

bit by bit, piece by piece.

Yeah, Annie. Okay, keep going.

Okay, keep going, keep going. Stop!

Oh-ho.

[Misty] These are challenges that average homesteads don't have,

and trying to combat them and trying to solve them

are like no easy task.

One by one, we're going to add these hog panels

to each one of these log beds.

Yeah, just flimsy bamboo

and trying to cover something never has worked for me.

-It just blows down, falls down. -Yeah.

So this feels super solid.

I'm gonna go get the staples.

[Misty] The last piece of a garden are these hoop houses.

We're gonna throw some plastic over the top,

anchor it down and call it a day.

That way, when it comes to the acid rain,

we'll have solved that problem,

and any little critters aren't gonna be able to get in.

So literally just wrapping a log

or a two by four.

This is what we do on the Forty.

And then we just roll it from the outside in.

[Annie] The garden's looking amazing.

It has the rain protection from the acid rain,

which is really great, and I love Misty's vision

and ingenuity.

And it makes me feel better about growing food

and doing the work that needs to get done.

Hey, Don.

-Hey, aloha, you two. -Don!

-[Misty] How's it going! -Wow.

I brought you a few starts.

-Wow. -[Misty] Oh.

These gardens need to have plants in them.

-You started these? -[Annie] Wow.

-[Annie] These are beautiful. -[Don] Yes.

[Misty] These are the most beautiful plants I've ever seen.

-So I guess we're planting. -[Annie] Okay.

And I know somebody that can help.

-Hello! How are you? -Good.

-You want to help out? -Yes.

[Annie] Having Misty come in and be able to hear

what I was struggling with,

and then navigate that with specific solutions

to help me be self sufficient

in growing food for my family,

I really appreciate that.

-Perfect. -Total perfection.

[narrator] Only two days remain

on the Raneys' rescue

of the Ridgely homestead.

And with the new garden almost complete...

[Misty] Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited!

...Misty confronts Annie's lack of livestock

and the overgrowth plaguing her land.

[Misty] Like, if you can't mow it, don't grow it.

Because the jungle and island

-will take you out. -Yeah.

And that's what happened to your garden, right?

Your garden, like, just got so overgrown.

-It was like abandoned, abandoned ship. -Yeah.

One of the biggest challenges

Annie has running this mac nut farm

is keeping the jungle mowed down.

So we're at a place now

where we need to pivot from the garden,

and we need to figure out how to help Annie in real time.

And for me, I immediately think "sheep," right?

So you have sheep?

Yeah. We were, um, staking them out.

-Oh, yeah... -[Annie] So,

different areas that we wanted mowed.

Like rotational grazing.

[Annie] Yeah, yeah.

And then we'd just stake them to a new tree,

and they'll just graze all around that tree.

-And sheep are just amazing mowers. -Yes.

[Misty] So what happened?

You used to have more?

[Annie] He had a female sheep and she was pregnant.

And we had the wild pigs come into the property

and kill his mate.

[Misty] Okay. The problem is clear.

Annie knows she needs sheep to keep the grass in check.

But keeping sheep safe, is no easy task.

And I think the solution could be a sheep tractor,

which is just a movable sheep pen.

That is awesome.

[narrator] Misty will build two 16-by-8-foot-wide sheep tractors

utilizing recycled lumber for the frame

and welded wire paneling for the walls

-to keep livestock in and predators out. - [howling and grunting]

[narrator] Towards one end,

she'll build a small high table over top

for rain protection.

Finally, she'll add wheels

so they can easily be towed with a four-wheeler,

providing the animals with a place to graze, fertilize and mow.

-Are you, like, open to bringing more sheep here? -Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. We love sheep. We want sheep.

Obi is the shepherd.

And so he would move the sheep all around

where we needed to be mowed.

What does-- Like--

-Is there anything Obi can't do? -[both laugh]

Gosh, the idea of having some sheep pack

it was just so heartwarming.

And I loved tying the kids in with the animals

because it's the animals that they love,

it's the animals that make it all worthwhile,

and then tying it into helping with the farm,

which is our livelihood is incredible.

All right. Hey, come in, gang!

[narrator] At the site of the new hunting blind,

Matt and the Ridgely children add a much-needed safety measure.

We have quite the platform.

It's nice and level.

It's all braced properly, but we need a railing.

I don't want you guys falling off of there.

And I have a really good idea where we're gonna get the railing.

Follow me.

[Matt] We've been building the hunting fort

out of a lot of dimensional lumber

that was donated to this homestead.

But I think it'd be really cool if we sourced

some local materials that we can cut down right here in the forest.

What do we have here?

Bamboo.

What do you know about bamboo? Tell me.

It's heavy duty grass.

Heavy duty grass is right, and it's super strong.

I want to use it as our railing

so that we can make it safe at the tree house.

[laughing] They're clapping. They're clapping. Wow.

Okay. Wow. Should I take a bow?

-Yes. -Okay.

Should I take a bow? Okay. Thank you very much.

[Matt] All right. Cut it off.

Giving each of these kids a chance

to cut down some bamboo with a new tool

is really what this is all about.

-[vocalizing] -What-- [Matt laughs]

They're getting experience

using a tool they've never used before

and looking at a bamboo thicket

in a way they've never looked before.

Whatever the direction this is pointed,

that's the way your tree's gonna fall.

Okay.

[tool whirring]

Awesome. What do you think?

Super cool. Nobody else has ever bothered

to teach me stuff like this.

What? I'll teach you everything

that I possibly can while I'm here

-so you can be better than your brothers. -Thank you.

I'm really thankful to Matt

for teaching me how to use this saw,

something I've never really been around before.

So it's super fun.

To be honest, it was totally an adrenaline rush.

Loved it.

We've got enough bamboo to start our railing,

and I'm really worried about this side of the platform

because that is where that deep ravine is,

and we definitely need to start with the hand railing on that end.

Let's get some of this bamboo and let's get this railing on.

Let's lift it up.

Okay, hold on.

Teaching Annie's children as much as I can about construction,

giving some experience to each and every one of them,

is really the best thing I can do to help Annie.

So check this out.

I got to go two feet and I did one line.

Now start here and then make another line.

When they start growing up, they're just gonna take over

that huge responsibility

that's resting on Annie's shoulders.

So now check this out.

I want to just wrap this around.

Just get-- I get like a couple of wraps around this,

and then...

I got this scrap piece of wood.

[Joy] And you're gonna twist.

-Yeah. -But why?

This rope is gonna stretch out over time.

You know, it's gonna get wet,

it's going to get dry.

It's going to do that a million times.

Then you can just give it another tighten. Tighten it up.

I call this Swiss Family Raneyson.

-What do you think about, like, right here Rye? -Yeah.

We just gotta make sure it's level.

My sisters don't usually build,

but when they did build this time,

they had so much fun.

They loved it, and I loved watching them do it.

-Is this safer? -Yeah.

No one's fallen in the ravine.

Let's get back to work.

[Marty] So, this turned out to be quite a space.

[narrator] With the water line finished, Marty takes the opportunity

to find out how he can best help Annie

multitask on the homestead

once the Raneys leave.

[Marty] It's hard to find an open space.

You planted a tree

-on every square inch of this place, right? -Yeah.

Is that all gonna be garden?

-That'd be the world's biggest garden. -Right.

I think that's too much to take on.

So now that we put the water line in

and it's now stretched across this property,

there must be something more that I can do

to make life easier for Annie.

-Your kids are the most fortunate kids on this island. -Aw.

Their mother is a farmer. Their mother is a rancher.

[Annie] And a certified teacher.

-You're a teacher. You're a school teacher. -Yes.

-Yeah, for real. -On that note,

where does the homeschooling take place?

A lot of learning opportunities happen outside,

and the house is small.

Home schooling my kids and running a business

inside the house is a lot.

So on a day like this, it'd be great to be outside.

May I suggest something?

There are flat spaces here

that I think we might do something with

that will benefit you and those children.

-Okay. -Are you interested?

-I am interested. -Okay.

[narrator] Marty will construct a ten-foot-tall

triangular-shaped homeschool deck

utilizing down trees as custom posts.

With salvaged lumber,

he'll create a cross-beamed roof system

protecting the family from Hawaii's elements.

Finally, he'll add a custom desk

milled from the albizia trees,

ensuring that Annie can keep a watchful eye on her homestead

while conducting class.

[machine revs]

So once I discovered that Annie

was homeschooling her own kids,

I thought, "Man, what if we had a cool place outdoors

where she could conduct her classes?"

And that led to an idea

where we could build something permanent

in the new space that we created.

Pull it out! Maybe we can pull a part of the log out.

We're always looking for something that we can upcycle

and take to the homestead and help that homesteader.

And today we're going to use the trees,

from this property.

Clint, set that big log on here.

I got to get it on two points, right.

I don't want to fight it. Let's go!

[whistling]

Push it over on there please.

Gonna put her down.

[whistling] Whoa!

That's what we want right there.

So now that we've set it in place for eternity,

we will just put one on this side, one on that side.

-We'll put a roof on it. -[man shouts]

The bad news is

the sun's going down right now, right this second.

We leave here in 24 hours.

All right, move the bucket!

[Marty] Come my way an inch, done!

The next board is 16.

[narrator] It's the final day on the Ridgely homestead.

-[yells] -[narrator] And at the site of the new garden...

[Marty] Running out of time, not happy!

...Marty and Matt Ortega

rush to finish roofing the outdoor homeschool deck.

Don't fight it. Let him do it.

[whistles] Done.

The sun's going down tonight

and we're leaving this homestead,

so we're going to start pounding nails

and they're going to have an outdoor learning center

and it's gonna be shaped like this.

So what we're trying to do is we're gonna establish

one board that reaches all the way. We're gonna pin that.

For the roof system,

we've used big trees from this property

as vertical structural supports for overhead beams.

The key is having the eye to notice.

The homestead already had everything here.

Sixteen-footers!

Hard as you can go.

[Matt Ortega] The shortest guy here.

[Marty] Hard as you can go. [laughs]

[whirring]

[Marty] We're gonna be dancing on this thing at sundown.

All right. Last piece.

-[narrator] At the monkey pod tree... -Last screw.

...Matt has one final challenge for the Ridgely kids.

Before they can call the hunting blind done...

Pretty much the last thing I needed to do

was get this roof on,

so the kids had some dry areas.

Now I got to go test those kids.

We have one last little project

that we need to complete before we're totally done.

But when I say we need to complete,

I mean you four

need to complete all on your own.

Us?

This is your big test.

You each have specific skills

that once you work together,

I think you're going to have no problem building this project.

Which is...

finish the railing on the end of this platform.

-Ready, set, go! -[Rye] I'll go measure.

[Matt] When I first started working with these four children,

I had no idea what their skills were.

Some of them surprised me with skills right off the bat.

Joy and Matea learned skills along the way.

That's level.

Next.

-Okay, go. -[Marty] All right. Good.

I really like it, you guys.

And in the end, they all worked well together.

[whirring]

You guys did it, come on down.

Building their own project and working all together,

finishing the tree hunting fort.

[narrator] One week ago,

the Ridgely kids dealt with wild hogs face to face

and at ground level.

[narrator] Today they have a custom elevated hunting blind

with a sturdy bamboo railing

and a roof to protect them from the weather.

All to safely hone their hunting skills

and provide valuable protein for their family.

So you forwarded the last project by yourself,

and you made it safe once and for all.

We did it the Ridgely way.

And that right there

is what I wanted the most

because I'm going to leave today,

but the more work you can do on this homestead,

the more successful it's gonna be,

and the more you're gonna help out your mom.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Put the tools down

and let's get up there and play. Come on.

This is so cool.

All right, everybody put your hands in!

All right, on three.

Peacock king! One, two, three.

[all] Peacock king!

[Misty] What do you think this is?

Sheep pen.

It's more than just a sheep pen.

-Moving sheep pen. -Yes!

[narrator] With only a couple hours remaining in the rescue,

Misty presents the finished sheep tractor

to Obi and Joy

before attempting to move it across the homestead.

I've recruited you because you're the shepherd, Obi.

-Yeah. -And so we created

a sheep tractor to move around the mac nut farm.

It's pretty heavy, though,

and on this many acres,

it might be kind of crazy to pull by hand.

So I talked to your mom a little bit,

and she said she wanted to build something

that, Joy, you could pull with the four wheeler.

And so, should we test it together?

-Yeah. -Okay.

Let's go get your mom in the four-wheeler.

-Yay! -Yay!

Check this thing out.

Oh, awesome!

[Misty] We're getting ready to move this sheep tractor

that Annie can move through the farm.

And mow down all the jungle,

fertilize the mac nut trees,

and help with the soil building.

-That's good. -Great communication right there.

[Misty] So we're hooking up and then hopefully it moves.

We're taking off pretty soon here,

and this is one of those things we need to finish

in order to help overcome all of the challenges

Hawaii throws at Annie and the kids.

[Misty] Okay. Does everybody know what they're doing?

-[Obi] Yeah. -Okay. Here we go.

[Annie] All right. That's okay. It's a little muddy.

What do you think, bud? You want to push from the back?

Sure.

[Misty] Ready.

Yippy!

Here we go! Through the mud!

[Misty] Slow way down. Like really slow.

-Okay. -Okay.

[Misty] So it's a rough start, but it's working.

You're doing good.

The kids are crushing it.

We're moving this massive sheep tractor

across the homestead.

But once we get it in place, it'll be something

that Annie, Joy and Obi can move on their own without me.

[Misty] This path looks like it needs some mowing.

[Annie] Perfect. That's perfect.

-[Misty] So wherever you stop is where the pen goes. -[Annie] Okay.

[Annie] Right there, right there!

-Nice. -[all cheering]

-Nice job! -[Misty] Good job, kids!

I was told to show up with this on

-because we were gonna learn... -[children] Hula.

What is hula?

-The Hawaiian dance art form storytelling. -[Matt] This?

What's the first thing we should know?

Hands on your hips. Bend your knees.

-Lower... -[Rye] Bend your knees like this.

-[Joy] Lower... -Oh!

[Joy] Back straight.

Lift one foot up, take this tiny step

and kick the other foot up and then bring it back.

[Marty] When I woke up this morning,

I had no idea that I'd be wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

[Misty] I don't really know how I feel about my dad

in a aloha shirt.

And that actually was kind of like buttoned.

Somebody get a thermometer and check his temperature.

-[all laughing] -[Marty] Yee-haw!

Oh, sorry, I got carried away.

[Misty] What's gonna happen next?

A unicorn's gonna drive by on a unicycle.

-[Marty] What about this one? -[all laughing]

[Marty] How about the skid-steer?

[Misty] Do the skid-steer.

Do the skid-steer. [laughs]

[Matt] Wow, that's really good.

[Marty] Do you believe they do that in Alaska?

-Yeah, I believe it. -They don't.

I totally made that up. Let's go.

[all laughing]

[Annie] Perfect. That's perfect.

[all cheering]

-[Annie] Nice job! -Good job, kids.

-Nice driving, Annie. -[Annie] Way to go!

So, I feel like the kiddos,

this is something they could do, right.

Come down, hook it on the ball.

-Pull it forward. -Mm-hmm.

Sixteen feet.

-[Annie] Yep. -Boom! So now,

I think we're missing one thing.

-Sheep. -Okay!

[laughing]

[Annie] Having that sheep tractor is incredible.

It's incorporating the kids,

and we don't have to do three mile of fencing.

We don't have to really create pens

for rotational pasture.

But here's something we can do right now,

that we can either scale up or scale down,

-which is really great. - [honking]

-[Annie] Obi is about to cry here. -[Misty laughs]

Please don't-- How long have you been waiting for sheep, Obi?

About two years.

[Misty] Oh, my goodness, I didn't know I was getting the perfect gift.

We made it in one piece.

But for me, that was such a test of what this thing can do.

Oh, she's so light.

[laughs] She's fluffy.

And I'm so excited for Obi

to once again become the shepherd that he is at heart.

[Annie] Yoo-hoo!

Here you go, babe.

[Obi] Mom's always just called me a shepherd

because I've always wanted sheep.

-And I'm so happy about this. - [bleating]

-[grunts] -[bleating]

[Misty] Do you think we did good?

[Annie] It's gorgeous. I love it.

This was a struggle to garden on the side of a volcano.

Whether you're fighting the jungle, the acid rain,

or all the crazy critters,

we've got you at least started

on your wild future ahead of you.

Absolutely. Mom to Mom.

Like you wanted me to be able to feed my family well.

-[Misty] Yeah. -[Annie] That's huge.

This is like the best thing

that could have ever happened.

You're making it so

-I can be successful now. -[Misty] Yeah.

Thanks to you.

[narrator] One week ago,

Annie's garden attempts suffered from a lack of water,

wild animal invasions,

acid rain, and was drowning in Guinea grass,

while her livestock dwindled due to predators.

Today, she has a thriving garden, fortified with lava rock,

and hog paneling with plastic sheeting

to protect against the island's elements.

And she also has sheep tractors

to keep the new livestock safe

while grazing, fertilizing,

and keeping the overgrowth at bay.

-[Misty] Shall we see if water comes out? -[Annie] Yeah. Let's see.

Fingers crossed. Whoo-hoo!

-Whoa! -Look at that pressure.

Look at that pressure.

Oh, my gosh, Annie.

I value eating healthy

and being able to be self-sufficient.

So having Misty here,

what I was struggling with

and what I was wanting was so helpful.

So from a mother's perspective,

I just feel completely overwhelmed with gratitude.

To me, this is life.

-[Misty] I'm so happy our paths crossed. -Yeah, me too.

Like I'm in awe of you every day.

Oh, likewise. You're such an inspiration.

-Love it. -I love it.

-[Annie] Thank you. -Okay. You're welcome. [sobs]

[Marty] You think we got any kinks in this water line?

-I don't think so. -Well, good.

-[Marty] Black pipe. -[Matt Ortega] Mm-hmm.

[Marty] Heated by the sun.

About 11 gallons of hot water on call at all times.

-Cool? -Oh, that's awesome.

I would have never known about this.

If you hadn't said anything, that water line would not be in.

So thank you.

I'm happy that Annie has such a loyal friend

and neighbor by the name of Matt Ortega.

He's the kind of guy you need

on an 80 acre mac nut farm.

And even though we're leaving soon,

I'm relieved because Matt Ortega

is right down the road.

About a week ago,

this was about 60 feet in the air.

Thanks to Jeff, he milled some slabs out of that.

It's big enough for four or five or six kids

and a teacher.

And it's covered.

Does it rain in this part of Hawaii?

-Oh, yes. -Exactly.

[narrator] One week ago,

Annie relied on rainwater catchment

as her water source

for her family, garden and livestock.

While two dangerous albizia trees

loomed over her ability to tap into a water source.

Today, with the trees down,

she has access to the nearby AG line

providing unlimited water to her homestead.

And she has a custom homeschool deck

using up cycled trees from posts

and a cross-beamed roof

to protect against the region's weather for years to come.

I want to thank you for all your help.

-I wanna thank you for everything. -You're welcome.

[Matt Ortega] That project deck looks like an awesome place

for teaching or anything.

So everything that Marty has come here to do,

it's showing Annie that she is capable.

It's just-- It's an awesome thing right there.

[Marty] I'll tell you one thing right now.

I'm impressed, clearly at you.

But your children are amazing.

A reminder how important family is.

So, don't thank us.

We want to thank you for that reminder.

Trying to garden and farm on the side of a volcano

is super challenging, and we did it.

Just being here in this moment,

knowing that I get to leave,

and as far as you and all the kids are concerned,

no matter what Hawaii throws at you,

you have the skillset to handle it.

I mean, I know that your dream

is to have these four amazing children

grow up and just get smarter.

And what I saw, blew my mind.

So I can only imagine what the future holds for this family.

-[children] Thank you. -[Marty] Aw.

You even say thank you harmoniously and perfect.

-[all laugh] -You are the perfect family.

And, Matt, thank you so much for your being a good neighbor.

-[Matt Ortega] Yeah. -Did we succeed in helping Annie?

Yes, we did.

These past couple of days, I saw joy return.

[voice shaking] And, uh, I just feel like you brought

light and life back to my heart,

and our lives, and this dream of homesteading

is going to stay alive.

This lifestyle

and being able to raise my family here

has, uh, been such a dream come true

and you know, because of them,

I feel like that I'm going to be able to hang onto it.

So, I'm so thankful.

-[Marty] Matea, did you have fun? -Yes.

On that note, we'll see you later.

Thank you so much. Thanks for everything.

[Marty] The Hawaiians have a word for family.

It's "Ohana."

It means family,

and no family member will ever be left behind.

[whistles] Let there be music.

[drums beating]

[lively music playing]

[Marty] Yee-haw!

[cheering]

[Marty] Wow.

Let me just jump in there. Come on.

This much work cannot get done

unless someone's learned how to work together with a family.

I pass it on to my children.

And without family,

none of this could have ever happened.

[exclaiming]

-Bravo. -Wow.

Amazing.

[clapping]

[cheering]

[Marty] Thank you.

[buzzing]

Hi, Raneys, we missed you.

The garden has been fruitful.

Those are tomatoes, beans.

Just being able to turn the water on every day

and bring in all this food

from the garden is the best gift of all.

We've got so many peas.

I picked the kale

and I made salad for my mom.

[Annie] The sheep tractors have been really awesome.

I move them to a new grassy spot every day.

[Joy] Look at that perfect mowing.

They're eating away all the grass and leaves.

[Annie] The kids really love the tree hunting blind

and we've had some archery competitions.

I've been practicing from the hunting blind.

We spend a lot of time there.

[Annie] Our confidence is back.

The momentum is moving forward and upwards.

We can't thank you enough.

We miss you, Raneys.

Thank you, Raneys.