- 2 days ago
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00:00:00It was unlike anything I've ever seen.
00:00:11We went outside and noticed that the river was coming up,
00:00:15and it was already underneath our house.
00:00:18It was like a torrent of water.
00:00:21Trees down everywhere.
00:00:23People's houses are just totally gone.
00:00:27We had bodies come through our property.
00:00:30We had 13 people die on our creek.
00:00:33All communication was cut off.
00:00:35You didn't know if anybody was alive.
00:00:38It's really difficult to keep going.
00:00:41We're starting over from scratch.
00:00:44Where do you even begin?
00:00:48This isn't a failed homestead.
00:00:50This wasn't in your control.
00:00:53We was pretty much 90% self-sustainable here.
00:00:57It's going to be such a hard week.
00:01:01Let's hook it up.
00:01:03Their family is literally broken apart.
00:01:06A homestead divided cannot stand.
00:01:11Wow, guys.
00:01:12Woo!
00:01:13We need 100% self-sufficient.
00:01:16This is the biggest thing that's ever happened
00:01:18on any homestead we've ever been to.
00:01:20Oh, why?
00:01:21He's trying to keep going.
00:01:24Come on, come on!
00:01:26Come on!
00:01:27We've been on homesteads that were impacted by earthquakes.
00:01:55We've been on homesteads that were impacted by tornadoes, but we've never seen anything
00:02:01like this.
00:02:03This is destruction of biblical proportions.
00:02:09I think for me that's the hardest thing is like, how do you help?
00:02:13I'll tell you how, one square foot at a time.
00:02:23Western North Carolina is a region rich with rugged wilderness, green mountains, and smoky
00:02:29hills.
00:02:31Home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee people for centuries, the first significant wave of
00:02:36European settlers was in the 1730s, with generations successfully living off the land until this
00:02:43day.
00:02:44But now, following the deadliest storm to strike the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina, many
00:02:52off-grid families faced the daunting task of rebuilding that legacy.
00:02:57One of them, the Ward family, who had realized their dream of self-sufficiency only to have
00:03:04it ripped away in an instant.
00:03:09I'm Haley.
00:03:10I'm Josh Ward.
00:03:11And we live in the mountains of North Carolina on 10 acres, and we have four beautiful children.
00:03:19This property here has been in our family for quite a few years.
00:03:23We're the fourth generation being on it.
00:03:27We inherited the land around summer of 2018.
00:03:31We moved on to the property in 2019.
00:03:35The only thing left here was the 1920s farmhouse.
00:03:39We put all of our savings that we had saved up into it because we wanted to nurture this
00:03:46land and see it grow into something big.
00:03:49After inheriting what was no longer a functioning homestead, Josh and Haley brought in a mobile
00:03:55home and built essential off-grid livestock and gardening infrastructure.
00:04:00There was very little stuff that we had to go to the grocery store for.
00:04:05We was pretty much 90% self-sustainable here.
00:04:11That's when everything changed for us.
00:04:15Helene come in and hit the area of western North Carolina.
00:04:19We kind of went into it thinking it was going to be like most of the other hurricanes.
00:04:24But we quickly realized, hey, this ain't no hurricane like we've dealt with before.
00:04:30Our community was hit really hard.
00:04:33We're starting completely over.
00:04:36And just slowly taking those steps to rebuild it could take years.
00:04:40It destroyed the house, the shop, and everything we had.
00:04:44The farmhouse, it was gone.
00:04:47The mobile home had several trees on it.
00:04:51With all the rain and all the flooding, it did damage the stream that we was getting our
00:04:54water out of.
00:04:56Here we go from having four generations of farming this land to it was gone.
00:05:06Everything has been taken away pretty much from us.
00:05:09But I would pretty much die trying to keep everything here.
00:05:13I'm not sure how much longer we can sustain living like this.
00:05:18Rainies, we need your help.
00:05:22How are you?
00:05:26How are you?
00:05:27All right, how are you?
00:05:28How are you doing?
00:05:29Good to see you.
00:05:30Wow, guys.
00:05:32How's it been to you?
00:05:33I'm Haley.
00:05:34Haley, Josh and Haley.
00:05:35What are the ages of everybody?
00:05:36Seven.
00:05:37Seven, 14.
00:05:3917, I'm about to be 18.
00:05:40And non.
00:05:41The drive here was pretty eye-opening.
00:05:44And it's a whole lot better than it was.
00:05:47We were, I would say, 90% self-sustaining before the hurricane.
00:05:53Wow.
00:05:54And we lost everything.
00:05:56You guys aren't a failed homestead.
00:05:59That isn't what happened here.
00:06:00You guys were successful homesteaders.
00:06:03Yep.
00:06:04So this wasn't in your control.
00:06:06We've been pushing forward, but we're still, like, very much in survival mode.
00:06:12Because we're mountain people, we're resilient.
00:06:14We'll get it done.
00:06:15And it'll take us longer, but we'll get it done.
00:06:22Homesteading has been a way of life for me since I was young.
00:06:26My whole goal here with the homestead is to raise our kids up, teaching them how to be able to provide for yourself.
00:06:33Hopefully one day they'll be able to continue on the journey.
00:06:38About 3 a.m. that morning, I started hearing lots of stuff blowing around outside.
00:06:43Our driveway looked like a river.
00:06:47Josh is a volunteer fireman, and he had to go stage at the station.
00:06:52He'd end up coming and getting us, and we went to the fire department.
00:06:57Two days after the storm, we had to walk in because all the bridges leading to this road was washed out.
00:07:04When I first saw everything, I just crashed, landed on the driveway.
00:07:11I was just overwhelmed.
00:07:14Everything was under trees and debris and water.
00:07:18There was so much mold in the house, they couldn't treat it all.
00:07:30I was at the hospital twice within four weeks with respiratory issues that was directly caused from mold.
00:07:38So since then, we have been staying in RVs.
00:07:43We're juggling 1,000 projects at a time.
00:07:47Our homestead is just overwhelming.
00:07:49We don't have a barn or a milk expansion or any kind of infrastructure for any of the animals.
00:07:55As far as gardening goes, it's something we can't do because the raised beds that we had, you know, they was all tore down.
00:08:02It's literally at ground zero.
00:08:05The idea of having to rebuild everything we worked for is so overwhelming.
00:08:12There's a lot of days that it's really difficult to keep going and to wonder, you know, why are we doing this?
00:08:24Walk me through the housing situation.
00:08:27We was living in this house.
00:08:30After the storm, there was, I believe there was eight trees on it, which had poked holes in the roof, and there was water damage inside.
00:08:38So the county deemed it unlivable.
00:08:41So where are you guys living?
00:08:42Me, Haley, and three kids are staying in the camper, and Mason stays in my parents.
00:08:49Well, that's got to impact your family.
00:08:51Oh, it does a whole lot.
00:08:51You look like a close family.
00:08:53We are.
00:08:54He can do things that the other kids can't, you know, and, I mean, he's kind of my right-hand man here.
00:08:59So it does affect us pretty big.
00:09:01We're currently trying to get us a house to move up here.
00:09:05And where would you move it to?
00:09:07Up on top of the hill up here.
00:09:09Can I look at that?
00:09:10Yeah.
00:09:11Let's go.
00:09:11We can look at it.
00:09:12Sure, sure.
00:09:13This is overwhelming.
00:09:15Their family is literally broken apart.
00:09:17The oldest son hasn't lived here since September of the hurricane, and there's no room for the entire family to fit in any structure here.
00:09:30A homestead divided cannot stand.
00:09:33What status is this plan at now?
00:09:37We have put a purchase order in on a house, and we're just waiting for it to be delivered.
00:09:44I think it's supposed to come while you're here.
00:09:45Really?
00:09:46What are you doing for water for this house?
00:09:49We are spring-fed.
00:09:51It's off over in the holler, wherever yonder, so we've got to bring water from down to up.
00:09:57Hmm.
00:09:57Can we look at that?
00:09:58Yeah.
00:09:59So this right here is our reservoir.
00:10:09Who put this in?
00:10:11My grandpa put this in whenever he owned the property.
00:10:15So right now it's full.
00:10:17Looks like a 500-gallon tank.
00:10:19So there's a lot of water.
00:10:21Oh, yeah.
00:10:21It was kind of cool to hear that generations have been using this as a water source.
00:10:27To me, that's good news.
00:10:29The bad news is the spring was impacted by the hurricane, the storm, the winds, the trees,
00:10:36and now there's this much sludge in the bottom of their only water source.
00:10:41This is our in-ground garden area, or was.
00:10:52We were just getting this prepped for fall planting, like spinach and cabbage and all
00:10:57that kind of stuff when the hurricane hit.
00:11:00This is what's left.
00:11:02All of our topsoil got washed away.
00:11:04You can see it everywhere, the debris, all the erosion, all the runoff from all the water
00:11:09just ripping down this whole hill.
00:11:12It's very disheartening to me because I took time to make it beautiful.
00:11:16It was my peaceful place.
00:11:19My greenhouse was damaged, and that was the big nail in the coffin, so to speak.
00:11:25It's more important than ever, you know, that we can really get started because a lot
00:11:31of health things happened over the last couple of years.
00:11:34I had a stroke, and from that, I found out that I had a brain tumor.
00:11:41I'm, like, speechless.
00:11:43Yeah.
00:11:43Because I actually can't imagine that being, like, anyone's reality, especially a mom's reality.
00:11:51As soon as we can get in a house, I'm going to have it removed because we need to have
00:11:55a safe place for that.
00:11:56That's really important.
00:11:58I'm sorry.
00:11:58That's a lot.
00:11:59It is.
00:12:00It's a lot.
00:12:02We, we're, nobody's guaranteed tomorrow, but if, if something happens to me, I still want
00:12:07them to have that place where they can come where their mom loved and do the things that
00:12:14they love.
00:12:18It's pretty overwhelming to think, like, how can we give this family back what they lost
00:12:22in just one week?
00:12:23But we have to do that.
00:12:24This is a generational homestead that's been passed down, and she's trying to set it up
00:12:29for her kids' future.
00:12:30It's now or never when it comes to this homestead.
00:12:32As far as livestock goes, what are we looking at here?
00:12:44We still have our pigs, our cows.
00:12:47We lost our chickens.
00:12:49How many chickens?
00:12:50We had at least 35.
00:12:52So overnight, they were just gone.
00:12:54You never saw them again.
00:12:55Yeah.
00:12:55That's a lot of food that got blown away.
00:12:59Are you milking the cows?
00:13:00We used to, but we can't now.
00:13:04Yeah, we had trees fall on top of a station.
00:13:08Walking around with these kids, having them show me what's missing.
00:13:13What they used to have is giving me a really good idea of just how much was lost in that
00:13:19devastating hurricane.
00:13:21What is this?
00:13:23This used to be the old farmhouse where I was staying.
00:13:28My grandparents used to live in it, and my great-great-grandparents used to live in it.
00:13:33Oh, man.
00:13:35That's probably the biggest loss on the homestead.
00:13:38Yep, that was one of the biggest ones because we had a taxidermy shop in the bottom of it.
00:13:42Who taxidermies?
00:13:43My dad runs his taxidermy business, and of course, I help him with that.
00:13:49Is that your family's bread and butter?
00:13:50I mean, that's where the money comes from?
00:13:52Yep.
00:13:52Wow.
00:13:54It seems like a lot of homesteading needs were met by this building.
00:13:57Yeah.
00:13:58The old farmhouse that was destroyed in the hurricane, that was really the heart of the
00:14:03homestead.
00:14:04It's where they did all their taxidermy.
00:14:06It was where Mason lived, and when that house got destroyed, the heart of the homestead stopped
00:14:13beating.
00:14:14Where are you doing the taxidermy now?
00:14:17We have a building that we brung in and put in place because without that, we have a
00:14:22income of money whatsoever.
00:14:30How big was it compared to what you had over there?
00:14:32This is really, really small compared to what we did have.
00:14:36We need a lot more space to be able to do it the way we're supposed to.
00:14:39This taxidermy business is a family business.
00:14:42They've done a good job making do with what they've had, but we need to give them a lot
00:14:49more space where they can work and keep making money on the homestead.
00:15:04It's really hard to believe the amount of destruction, how these lives are impacted from that hurricane.
00:15:10And on this homestead, they have shelter coming in, but they don't have a system for food and water.
00:15:17Right here is the remains of where their farmhouse was.
00:15:23They used the entire bottom space for a taxidermy shop.
00:15:28This is how they pay the bills.
00:15:30And they moved their large taxidermy business into that tiny shed right there.
00:15:36Oh, wow.
00:15:38So I have two main goals.
00:15:39I want to fix the livestock areas, and then we're going to build a much-needed addition to the taxidermy shop.
00:15:47Haley has major health concerns.
00:15:51She had a stroke.
00:15:52She has a brain tumor.
00:15:55They are going to operate on it.
00:15:57Her mobility might be affected.
00:16:00So how do I get this garden set up to how it once was?
00:16:05Because whatever the future holds, this needs to be a running farm.
00:16:10They're 90% self-sufficient.
00:16:12Not good enough.
00:16:14We need 100% self-sufficient.
00:16:16And then after that, can we bring hope to an area of the country that is still suffering from devastation?
00:16:29Family is everything.
00:16:37We're going to try to do the best we can to get this family back together and make this homestead even better than where you were before September of 2024.
00:16:51I want to get the water and the soil tested on this homestead because it might be contaminated.
00:16:59We're going to look at that and see how we can help you.
00:17:01We're ready for it.
00:17:03Yeah.
00:17:03It's going to be such a hard week, but it's going to be a good week.
00:17:08We'll see you in the morning.
00:17:09All right.
00:17:15When's this house coming here?
00:17:16Tomorrow.
00:17:17Let's hit it.
00:17:18We're moving in.
00:17:19A house over 70 feet long?
00:17:22Holy smokes.
00:17:23It's really big.
00:17:28In the early hours of September 27th, 2024, Hurricane Helene hit the western Appalachian region of North Carolina.
00:17:41Pummeled by 140-mile-per-hour winds and torrential rainfall, many off-grid residents were caught off guard by the ferocity of the storm and flooding.
00:17:52For the Ward family, the challenge to rebuild their devastated homestead begins today.
00:18:02When's this house coming here?
00:18:03Tomorrow.
00:18:04We've got to get these trees down today, then.
00:18:06Yeah, we sure do.
00:18:07The arrival of the family's new home is unexpected news.
00:18:13A house is going right there that's 30 by 70.
00:18:17This means Marty and Josh have less than 24 hours to clear trees and brush from a 200-foot stretch of land for the home site.
00:18:26We'll have Clinton in this.
00:18:28I'll start knocking these down.
00:18:32Let's hit it.
00:18:36Clint?
00:18:37Don't kill me.
00:18:41This might be the first time that I started on a homestead falling trees where there wasn't anything that the trees could fall on.
00:18:51But there will be something, and that is a brand new home that we're moving in right there.
00:19:05Next!
00:19:06You've done a lot of cleanup.
00:19:28Yeah, we've done some.
00:19:29On the lower end of the homestead.
00:19:31But there's still some stuff left.
00:19:33Yeah, there's still plenty of stuff left to move out of here.
00:19:38I bet you there's something in here that we could use.
00:19:41Matt closes a chapter of Ward family history amongst the rubble of the old farmhouse.
00:19:47The Ward siblings and I are going to confront that nasty, depressing pile, which used to be the old farmhouse that their grandparents, great-grandparents lived in, and now it's just been reduced to rubble.
00:20:04Everything we can salvage from all this destruction, it's going to help mentally, and it's actually going to help us build.
00:20:12So let's just find the good stuff, and we'll get rid of all the rest.
00:20:17Got your work gloves on?
00:20:19Yeah.
00:20:19Okay, let's not waste any more time.
00:20:21Let's start sifting through and see what we can find that's useful.
00:20:23It'd be pretty easy to just go with a big excavator and just pick up everything and throw it in the dumpster, but that is not the homesteading way.
00:20:45These bricks are really cool.
00:20:47Let's put it in a pile over here.
00:20:48Anything we find in this pile and upcycle is a huge win for the homestead.
00:20:55Ready?
00:20:56Yeah.
00:21:00Now, I think we need to come in here with some heavy equipment, everybody get out of the way, and I'm going to start raking everything and making this thing look like it never existed before.
00:21:11Okay?
00:21:12Yeah.
00:21:12Are you prepared for that?
00:21:14Yeah.
00:21:15Okay.
00:21:18Here, sir.
00:21:29It was exciting to be able to go through that pile of the old house.
00:21:35It was sad, too, because going through where I used to do school and all that.
00:21:40I got real good memories in the old farmhouse here.
00:21:49Back when everybody was younger, coming up, staying a week with my grandpa and farming with them.
00:21:54It was kind of like losing part of the family.
00:21:56I know what it's like to lose an important building when my parents' house burned down.
00:22:04I had to go in there and clean it up.
00:22:06It was very sad, but I think it's a good thing because it helped us move on.
00:22:11Haley, come on in.
00:22:22Back at the future home site, Misty and Haley make preparations for a revitalized gardening operation.
00:22:30So my dad's taking down trees that potentially could hit that future home.
00:22:37Right.
00:22:37And because this space is flat and it's really close to that future home site and all these trees just came down and so there's a lot of sun.
00:22:45Yeah.
00:22:46I feel like the future garden could be, like, here.
00:22:48Yeah.
00:22:49Do you like this?
00:22:50I do.
00:22:51After seeing this much devastation from the hurricane and hearing about the garden that washed away, I have to be able to figure out something that will last until the end of time.
00:23:02I have this crazy idea, which is to make these garden bed bunkers.
00:23:08And for me, I want to create something that's not going to wash away.
00:23:13It's not going to blow away.
00:23:14Grass, so there's a lot going on here, but I feel like we do it with concrete.
00:23:19Okay.
00:23:21Misty and Haley will build a series of four by eight raised beds with fresh soil so the wards can once again grow all their own produce.
00:23:31Placed 50 feet from the house, these concrete bunker beds will be hurricane resistant and easily accessible for Haley.
00:23:38So, me and Misty chose a place to put the new garden.
00:23:51We put a bed of sand in, so it's going to help stabilize them and help some drainage in our clay soil that does not drain very easily.
00:23:59So, that's overall going to be healthier plants, and we're not going to get as many diseased plants as we have in the past.
00:24:06Okay.
00:24:07What do you think about the height?
00:24:08Does that work?
00:24:09Three courses high?
00:24:10Oh, yeah.
00:24:10It's perfect.
00:24:11There was so much devastation with this hurricane.
00:24:15Clearly, one of the losses was the garden.
00:24:18It was her happy place.
00:24:20They were growing enough food to feed their family.
00:24:24And for me, I think it's really hard to create a hurricane-proof garden, but I can build something that's designed and meant to last.
00:24:33And if you do it out of concrete, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
00:24:37These will be here in 100 years.
00:24:39These and the pyramids will be here at the end of time.
00:24:45This hurricane has compromised this water system.
00:24:49What did you find out?
00:24:50As far as your water, you have some high coliforms on that, but you also have E. coli.
00:24:56Which could kill you.
00:24:59What are we going to do about it?
00:25:03What are we going to do about it?
00:25:07Okay.
00:25:09The projects that need to be done on this homestead are kind of endless, but we're going to squeeze something in for this shop.
00:25:17You're doing everything in this tiny shop.
00:25:21Yeah, everything inside of it.
00:25:22You want to separate your storefront finished products from the taxidermy process.
00:25:28Yeah, if we can do that, that will be awesome.
00:25:30That will help a lot.
00:25:33Taxidermy is an animal preservation technique that involves skinning and stuffing an animal to recreate its living form.
00:25:41Professional taxidermists are frequently contracted by museums, hunters, and pet owners, and earn an average salary of $40,000 per year.
00:25:50Okay, so we're going to build a shed, but it's not just going to be any old shack.
00:25:59It's going to be the skinning shack.
00:26:01The old farmhouse is gone.
00:26:03We've got an amazing space.
00:26:05Matt, Mason, and Clayton will construct a 12-by-12-foot skinning shack to protect the tools and inventory of the family's taxidermy business,
00:26:18doubling their square footage and providing them with enough space for their homestead operation to thrive once again.
00:26:25You ever use the chainsaw before?
00:26:28Yes, sir.
00:26:29Okay.
00:26:30That's good.
00:26:30So let's have a little bit of fun and just see how good you are at felling trees, exactly where you want to put them.
00:26:37Clayton, go grab those two combs.
00:26:39I want to try to double the square footage of their taxidermy shop, but we can't do anything until we remove two dangerous trees.
00:26:48They're definitely going to threaten these buildings if another hurricane blows through.
00:26:53Let it rip!
00:26:54Let it rip!
00:26:56I like it.
00:27:11He's calculating every move.
00:27:15Whoa, whoa, whoa!
00:27:17That didn't look good.
00:27:19I mean, it could snap.
00:27:20I don't want it to snap.
00:27:21So, I'm going to get in there with the skid steer, and I'm going to push it this way.
00:27:26That'll work.
00:27:27All right.
00:27:30I'm real excited, real happy about the skinning shack, because without that taxidermy shop, I can't bring in more money to fix some of the things on the homestead that we need.
00:27:43It's where we can start replacing some of the things like that that we lost during the hurricane.
00:27:48So this means a lot.
00:27:51It might snap, so watch out.
00:27:54All right, cut it.
00:27:56We're going to still try to make it in the goal.
00:28:04Goal!
00:28:05We have to go!
00:28:08That was good.
00:28:09Okay, this is a big day on this homestead.
00:28:21See that thing?
00:28:23It's headed to the bottom of the mountain to hook onto a house over 70 feet long, 16 feet wide.
00:28:32It's quite a wide berth that it's going to need to make this corner.
00:28:41We've cleared out a lot of trees.
00:28:45We've done everything we can do.
00:28:47Today, we are finally getting our home that we purchased a couple months ago.
00:28:55We're just really excited to see it arrive.
00:28:59I want to believe that it's going to make that turn there that we just widened, and there's
00:29:06only one more turn at the top.
00:29:07That is, like, really thick.
00:29:19Holy smokes.
00:29:20This thing is huge.
00:29:21Wow!
00:29:22Come on over.
00:29:28Stone?
00:29:30This thing's fancy!
00:29:33This is amazing.
00:29:34This is a big deal.
00:29:36Yeah, this is crazy.
00:29:38You were homeless, so tell us about that day.
00:29:43We didn't know how this whole area was going to come out of it, and we lost a lot of hope
00:29:50that day.
00:29:52Seeing this here today, we're out of that survival mode.
00:29:59We can live again.
00:30:01My life's not on pause.
00:30:03We can actually get out of the campers.
00:30:04I mean, I'll be back together.
00:30:05I'm up under one roof.
00:30:07Does that make you happy or sad?
00:30:08It makes me happy, because I'm back on the homestead, get to do stuff I like doing.
00:30:13For us, homesteading is about family.
00:30:17This is going to bring Mason back and get us all under one roof again.
00:30:22It's like the final missing piece.
00:30:24We're under the impression this was about $285,000.
00:30:30Yeah.
00:30:31Is that right?
00:30:32Yeah.
00:30:32Yeah.
00:30:32Okay.
00:30:33So even though this is a great day for you guys, you have a pretty significant mortgage.
00:30:39We've worked hard for, you know, the last 20 years being married, trying to get to this
00:30:45point.
00:30:45But I'm not going to lie.
00:30:47He was stressed about it a little bit.
00:30:49Yeah.
00:30:49What man wouldn't?
00:30:50That said, I asked for a favor, a big favor.
00:30:56And this is the biggest thing that's ever happened on any homestead we've ever been to.
00:31:01Hey, Jason!
00:31:02Tracy!
00:31:05Oh, why?
00:31:05The people where this thing is manufactured wanted to come see it in place.
00:31:19So what we'd like to do is introduce...
00:31:22Hey, Jason!
00:31:24Tracy!
00:31:27Come on over, guys.
00:31:28Jason, nice to meet you.
00:31:29Hey, Tracy.
00:31:30Tracy.
00:31:31Nice to meet you.
00:31:31Nice to meet you.
00:31:32Come on, right here, front and center.
00:31:33What a house.
00:31:33Yeah.
00:31:34I'm up here, front and center, Tracy.
00:31:35Tell us why you're really here today.
00:31:39We heard your story.
00:31:42Well, with Champion Homes and Regional Homes, we decided to get together and help you guys
00:31:45out a little further.
00:31:47So for us, a gift to the Ward family, we'd like to give you guys $100,000 to pay down
00:31:53your mortgage.
00:31:54Oh, why?
00:31:59Couldn't go to a more deserving family.
00:32:01Their generosity is, you know, moving and life-changing.
00:32:08So thank you.
00:32:09Thank you very much.
00:32:10It's unbelievable.
00:32:12Ain't no words for it.
00:32:15We do good.
00:32:16We try to help people.
00:32:19I think it's just all coming back to us.
00:32:21We were informed by one of our local retail stores about a family who was in the market
00:32:27for a new home because they lost everything during Helene.
00:32:30And so it all came together, and we were able to bless the family with something pretty special.
00:32:35We know that this family is well-deserving of this gift, and we're just so happy and excited
00:32:41to be able to do this for them.
00:32:43Everything's going to be better and better than it was before.
00:32:48Wait, I did want to say one last thing.
00:32:49They told me you might want to wait until Monday to cash it.
00:32:54At least it's Monday and not the 30th.
00:32:56We're off to a good start here in North Carolina, but this house is just the first step.
00:33:04There's a lot of work to do to get this family back to homesteading.
00:33:17Here we go.
00:33:22With the Ward's house in place...
00:33:25That looks good.
00:33:26Matt and the boys utilize the homestead's felled trees to double the square footage
00:33:32of the family's taxidermy operation.
00:33:34The fact that we have so much cedar on the property, it's a no-brainer that we use them
00:33:39as a post for a foundation for the skinning shack.
00:33:43The natural oils and resins found in cedar act as a preservative, guarding against decay
00:33:50and bug infestation, making it one of the world's most durable woods.
00:33:55And ideal for outdoor building.
00:33:57And ideal for outdoor building.
00:33:58The natural building.
00:33:58The natural building.
00:33:59The natural building.
00:33:59The natural building.
00:34:00Woo!
00:34:01OK.
00:34:02Drop that post in there.
00:34:07I do have a goal of taking this homestead on and leading it on to future generations.
00:34:14And if we can get that taxidermy shop back to work correctly, I can come back and be
00:34:21able to keep it alive.
00:34:22Grab one in.
00:34:23Grab it.
00:34:24OK.
00:34:25You caught it?
00:34:26All right.
00:34:27Watch out.
00:34:28Go all the way over there.
00:34:29What we're doing in the beginning is like heavy-duty lifting, kind of big kid stuff, but I want
00:34:33to include Clayton because he's a big part of this homestead's future.
00:34:38Stand right on top of that thing.
00:34:40Here you go.
00:34:41Jump.
00:34:42Yeah.
00:34:43Yeah.
00:34:44I'm just letting him go at his own pace so he can get some more skills and more experience
00:34:49on how to build and do construction.
00:34:53Good job.
00:34:54Matt, he's funny.
00:34:55He's cool.
00:34:56We have a lot of fun working with each other.
00:34:59Give it a try.
00:35:00This is the old school way.
00:35:02And I feel really excited to be doing that.
00:35:07Nice.
00:35:08Nice.
00:35:09OK, let's keep going.
00:35:10OK, sir.
00:35:18On the lower end of the property, Marty looks to accommodate the cattle.
00:35:24You're thinking about getting more cows?
00:35:26Yeah.
00:35:27That's the plan.
00:35:28But right now there's no place?
00:35:29Nope.
00:35:30After Helene hit, the cows is actually over at my neighbor's house eating grass out of their yard.
00:35:34We got them rounded back up.
00:35:35Right now they're having to use an old goat shed until we can get something put back up for them.
00:35:40What do you think about some shelter for these cows?
00:35:42I don't really see an adequate barn or protection from the elements, whether it's a storm, water, snow, sleet, rain, or sun.
00:35:52The milk cows are out here exposed to the elements.
00:35:56Think it's time to make some flat ground, build a barn?
00:35:59So where would you put a flat spot and maybe have a little small barn?
00:36:03Maybe coming right in here and maybe making a flat place and put some type of shelter right in here.
00:36:11OK.
00:36:12This is still inside the fenced pasture land?
00:36:15Yep.
00:36:16Cool.
00:36:17I like it.
00:36:18In a perfect world, where would this side of the barn be?
00:36:21Somewhere probably right about in here, I'd guess.
00:36:25OK.
00:36:26And then we'll try to find a water line and water some cows.
00:36:29Yep.
00:36:30All right.
00:36:31I'm going to get an excavator.
00:36:32Let's do it.
00:36:33Copy that.
00:36:34Marty will level and grade a 25 by 25 foot pasture and construct a post and beam cow barn out of felled trees and boulders collected from the property.
00:36:46Inside will contain the family's repaired milking stanchion, allowing the wards to utilize the cows for their off-grid dairy needs.
00:36:55We primarily grow on food and raise our own food, so hopefully everything works out.
00:37:08Because the goal is to go back to being able to milk the cow like we did back before the hurricane.
00:37:13We got about three gallons a day.
00:37:15We drunk it, make butter, make cheese, whatever we needed.
00:37:20I'm hoping we can get a flat space, build a barn for these cows, make a safe place, a cool place where they can hang out, feed and water, be protected from the elements, and it'll be a sanctuary for them until the cows come home.
00:37:37Hey folks.
00:37:47At the modular home site.
00:37:49Uh, yeah, just on the side would be great.
00:37:52Reinforcements arrive to help Marty get the ward homestead back up and running.
00:37:58We actually are a non-profit that was founded as a result of Hurricane Helene.
00:38:03People have lost their entire livelihood.
00:38:05But something that has been amazing to see in Western North Carolina is just the community.
00:38:11We've had volunteers come all over to just help people.
00:38:15Well, I brought some help.
00:38:17Awesome.
00:38:18You can talk about community.
00:38:20You can talk about generosity.
00:38:21You can talk about being a good neighbor.
00:38:23But you see it out here every day in North Carolina.
00:38:26A family that still hasn't recovered since Hurricane Helene.
00:38:31The Sharp family dropped what they were doing to come help Josh and Haley.
00:38:37Well, this is Leo.
00:38:38Yep.
00:38:39And this is Tessa.
00:38:40Hi.
00:38:41We brought you some things.
00:38:42Oh, this is awesome.
00:38:43I put some herbs in there and then just some things that we've made.
00:38:47That's awesome.
00:38:48That's really nice of you.
00:38:50Very generous.
00:38:52Can I give you a hug?
00:38:53Of course.
00:38:54Now, what town are you in?
00:38:56We're in Green Mountain.
00:38:57How far away?
00:38:58About an hour.
00:38:59Was Green Mountain impacted by the hurricane or is that a dumb question?
00:39:02It's just like here.
00:39:04Our experience with the hurricane was we were at home and around 9.30, the river was coming
00:39:11up.
00:39:12By noon, it was already underneath of our house.
00:39:17It came up so fast.
00:39:19At first, we didn't realize how bad the damage was.
00:39:27Lost our bedroom to our house.
00:39:30As well as the barn and all of our garden beds and animal enclosures.
00:39:35We lost all of our chickens.
00:39:38We're rebuilding with the help of volunteers all around the country coming in.
00:39:43They've helped us get to where we are now, just like we're here, to help these people in our community.
00:39:49So you're not even finished over there and you came over here.
00:39:52Absolutely.
00:39:53Why would you do that?
00:39:54It's all about community.
00:39:55Community is family.
00:39:56That's the way the mountain people are around here.
00:39:59Yeah.
00:40:00They give up what they got around home to go help others.
00:40:03Yeah.
00:40:04Pretty cool.
00:40:05We have to look after each other.
00:40:06It's one big family.
00:40:12Woo!
00:40:13Bring me the money.
00:40:14Bring me money.
00:40:15Later that day...
00:40:16Bring me a lot of money.
00:40:17Let's go.
00:40:18It's all hands on deck at the future garden site to help Misty fortify the raised bunker beds.
00:40:26We have all these garden bed bunkers.
00:40:28We're going to build them with concrete.
00:40:30That way the next hurricane that hits, God forbid, the garden at least will be protected.
00:40:38Break it down.
00:40:39Break it down.
00:40:40Break it down.
00:40:41Everybody was working together to get it done and that was the community.
00:40:46That was a cool thing to be a part of.
00:40:48It means a lot.
00:40:49Yeah.
00:40:50It's been really beautiful in a really convoluted, backwards way.
00:40:54Dang, y'all making me cry.
00:40:56Coming as strangers, leaving as family.
00:40:58Yes.
00:40:59Wow.
00:41:00Thanks, everybody.
00:41:01You ready?
00:41:03Everybody on three.
00:41:05One, two, three.
00:41:06It's day four on the ward homestead.
00:41:07Why does it look like I got the heavy end?
00:41:08Matt starts the morning by erecting the shell of a new taxidermy skinning shack.
00:41:16I do want to talk to you about something.
00:41:17All right.
00:41:18And while the concrete cures in the garden bunker beds, Misty looks to breathe new life
00:41:23into a piece of the homestead's existing infrastructure.
00:41:29The existing greenhouse survived the hurricane, but it's really far away.
00:41:34Yeah.
00:41:35Should we try and move it up here?
00:41:36I think we should.
00:41:37Okay.
00:41:38Yeah.
00:41:39Let's move it up here closer to the house, closer to the garden and it's full of stuff.
00:41:46Yeah.
00:41:47So we need to clean it out and then we're going to try to move the greenhouse without destroying
00:41:51it.
00:41:52Sounds good.
00:41:53Here we go.
00:41:54Hayley at this happy place greenhouse, but this place is so miserable.
00:42:10Let me see how wacky this is when I try to dig it up.
00:42:15This greenhouse has this crazy invasive poisonous weed inside of it that has completely overtaken
00:42:21it called Carolina horse nettle weed.
00:42:28Carolina horse nettle is a prickly, fast growing weed that can be eradicated with herbicides
00:42:34or frequent mowing.
00:42:36Its stem and berries contain the toxin solanide, which when ingested by humans or livestock can
00:42:43cause fever, respiratory depression, vomiting, and in extreme cases, death.
00:42:51I think I'm going to follow your lead since we do not have this in Alaska.
00:42:56And then each of these berries like has seeds and then it just spreads like wildfire.
00:42:59It spreads, yep.
00:43:00And that's like what the animals want to eat.
00:43:03Have you lost any livestock?
00:43:04I had a cow, a calf that got sick from it and I think I've lost some goats to it.
00:43:10That is crazy, Hayley.
00:43:12Yep.
00:43:13Ow!
00:43:14Okay, I just got poked.
00:43:15She got good.
00:43:16So, let's just have the medic on standby in case something gets really weird.
00:43:27I met my worst enemy today.
00:43:29It is Carolina horse nettle weeds.
00:43:32After trying to remove them from the greenhouse, I thought Hayley was over exaggerating.
00:43:36She is not.
00:43:37I'm going double gloves, guys.
00:43:39This is a first.
00:43:40These are some big thorns on these back here.
00:43:43Big, big thorns.
00:43:44The whole homestead and the whole future is at the top.
00:43:47And clearly, we don't want to bring this with us when we go to move the greenhouse.
00:43:53All right, Hayley, I think we got it.
00:43:56So, let's wipe the whole thing down with vinegar.
00:43:58Once it's a wipe down, we'll figure out how we're moving it.
00:44:02And I think we try with a skid steer, but this is heavy, which makes sense because it's
00:44:07still standing after Hurricane Helene.
00:44:10So, it's sturdy.
00:44:12It's intact.
00:44:13It's a good greenhouse.
00:44:15It's just in the wrong location and it's completely toxic.
00:44:18I love that we were able to get all that Carolina horse nettle out of the greenhouse because
00:44:28that was my biggest predator in the garden.
00:44:31I could deal with the chickens and the rabbits and everything getting in there, but that weed
00:44:36has been horrible to deal with.
00:44:39I've lost so many plants and then just the use of my greenhouse.
00:44:43So, getting it out of there was so great.
00:44:45So, here we are at the old chicken coop.
00:44:58Is this space behind us right here?
00:45:00Is this all up for grabs?
00:45:02Yes, this is all up for grabs right here.
00:45:05Okay.
00:45:06Matt shifts focus to rebuilding the homestead's livestock infrastructure.
00:45:11These homesteaders were over 90% self-sufficient before the hurricane and the livestock was the
00:45:18big part of it.
00:45:19They brought three pigs back on the homestead, but they need to bring chickens back to property
00:45:24if we're going to get them back to where they were pre-Hurricane Helene.
00:45:29Everybody's going to be living over here, right?
00:45:32Yes, sir.
00:45:33And that, to me, seems like moving the livestock closer but not too close would be a good idea.
00:45:38Makes sense to me.
00:45:39Yeah.
00:45:40Okay.
00:45:41We're talking about pasture space, pen space.
00:45:44I mean, this is really the only flat area close to the top.
00:45:47And I think the higher we get on this mountain, the better, especially if the weather gets
00:45:52bad.
00:45:53And I think that we should build something that you can fit the pigs in.
00:45:56Maybe get a little extra space if you wanted to get more pigs.
00:45:59The chickens can live in the chicken coop because it is intact.
00:46:03We're going to use it as is, but we're going to beef it up to actually get you back up to
00:46:08step when it comes to having your livestock and being self-sufficient.
00:46:12You like it?
00:46:13Yep.
00:46:14Yep.
00:46:15Good.
00:46:16Loving it?
00:46:17Mm-hmm.
00:46:18You happy?
00:46:19Yeah.
00:46:20To revitalize the homestead's livestock setup, Matt will construct a 50-by-50-foot enclosed
00:46:26area with separate weatherproof quarters for chickens and pigs at the top of the property,
00:46:32keeping the animals safe and allowing for future expansion.
00:46:37All right.
00:46:38Watch out.
00:46:39Skip back just a little bit.
00:46:40Me and my little siblings and Matt, we made a game plan to start working on the hog pen,
00:46:54fix the chicken coop.
00:46:56We've had meat chickens and hogs our whole life, but during the hurricane we lost our chickens,
00:47:03our place to put the chickens, and it's been hard since all that happened.
00:47:07So I'm looking forward to getting all that done and working on that with Matt.
00:47:12Nice.
00:47:13Looking good.
00:47:14The last thing I want to do is put chickens, pigs, livestock on the side of a hill.
00:47:21So I'm making my own flat space where we can put the livestock that's high, it's dry, so
00:47:28no water can touch it, even if there's a flash flood.
00:47:32Beautiful logs.
00:47:34And we're going to use these logs.
00:47:36And we're going to use these rocks.
00:47:39Building a flat space on top for the livestock, that's all fun and games, but that dirt is
00:47:45going to get washed away if you don't build a retaining wall.
00:47:48And so all the rocks that we've sourced from the property are really coming in handy,
00:47:52because we can stack them up, form a barrier to hold in all that dirt,
00:47:57and keep that little mountain that we've built from eroding away.
00:48:07Josh.
00:48:08Yeah.
00:48:09This is Jennifer.
00:48:10Nice to meet you.
00:48:11And that's Yossi.
00:48:12Howdy.
00:48:13Nice to meet you.
00:48:14Nice to meet you.
00:48:15Nice to meet you.
00:48:16They're about an hour away.
00:48:17What's the name of that creek you're on?
00:48:19Flat Creek in Fairview.
00:48:20You got something in common.
00:48:22We moved here into this area in 2015.
00:48:26We bought a four-acre property, and we spent nine years building it into our homestead.
00:48:33We had 80 fruit trees, a greenhouse, and 38 raised beds, the chicken coop with 30 chickens,
00:48:40and all of that is completely gone.
00:48:45She woke me up, and she said, I hear the water.
00:48:49We jumped out of her bed, and we saw that already water came inside.
00:48:54You don't have a lot of time to make decisions in that moment, and if you spend too long trying
00:48:59to decide what to do, you might stay too long.
00:49:03We said we have to flee.
00:49:05We decided to go up the mountain, and while we were doing that, it was a torrent.
00:49:10Debris and water coming down, and luckily we had a neighbor over there, and they opened the door for us.
00:49:17I think we were both in shock.
00:49:20Thirteen people died just on their creek, so they saw some bad times.
00:49:27When we got back to it, it was absolutely unrecognizable.
00:49:32It was just heartbreaking to see, and even today, we're still working full-time on it.
00:49:37In what ways did people help you guys on your homestead?
00:49:41We had people from all over the country.
00:49:43I mean, we had someone, we had a pastor from Minnesota.
00:49:46He drove for two days one way with his tractor just to help us.
00:49:51Luckily, people were just willing to plug in and do whatever needed to be done to help us,
00:49:57and so we got the call that said, this family needs help, and we just said,
00:50:00what day and what time, and we'll be there, you know, and we're happy to just pitch in
00:50:05and do whatever we can to help someone else.
00:50:07You're paying it forward.
00:50:09Absolutely.
00:50:10So, we're going to put you to work, if you don't mind.
00:50:14Follow me, please.
00:50:23Let's square that up.
00:50:26That's good.
00:50:28The new barn is going to be amazing.
00:50:30During the hurricane, a tree actually crushed our little barn, milk and stanchion area,
00:50:37and so we've not been able to milk the dairy cows here and properly checked over or anything since the hurricane.
00:50:45A milk cow has to be milked to continue to be healthy and productive and have her reproductive help.
00:50:52Okay.
00:50:53Come down and push it in.
00:50:54Quit.
00:50:55These guys have cattle.
00:50:59Somewhere on this property, they were milking a cow.
00:51:03I hope we have enough time to build a safe little barn for the cows.
00:51:07I think that it's going to help with their milk production because they'll milk a cow on flat ground and protect it from the elements.
00:51:15Later that day, the findings of the homestead's soil and water test are in.
00:51:25As you can see, we have brought someone with us.
00:51:28Her name is Amy.
00:51:30We have questions about your soil and water.
00:51:33So, we had her test it.
00:51:35What'd you find out?
00:51:36Your soil, it's got some problems.
00:51:51In two of the places we tested, you have Listeria monocytogenes, which is the bad kind of Listeria.
00:51:57That's the kind that'll make you sick.
00:51:59And then you also had some pretty high fecal coliforms.
00:52:02You know, it could be human waste.
00:52:04It could be animal waste because in a flooding like we had, you just don't know.
00:52:07So, things are a lot more toxic because of the hurricane.
00:52:11Typically, when you would think about contamination from a regular flood, so to speak, it would only be maybe five or six inches deep.
00:52:21Well, where you've been stripped of so much and there was so much land movement, I went almost 20 inches deep.
00:52:27Oh, wow.
00:52:28And we still found it.
00:52:30Oh, wow.
00:52:31So, your ground has had a lot happen to it.
00:52:36Given the nature of this hurricane and how catastrophic and widespread it was, you had things that wouldn't normally be breached, like, say, septic tanks and things like that.
00:52:45Now, it runs downhill, unfortunately.
00:52:47And when you're down here towards the bottom, that's what ends up happening.
00:52:50We actually lost a goat to Listeria and we couldn't figure out why.
00:52:54Oh.
00:52:55You have some contamination issues there.
00:52:56Yeah.
00:52:57Yeah.
00:52:58It's just like a kick in the gut, man.
00:53:00It's not the news we wanted, but it's good to know these things.
00:53:04And moving forward, it's going to be something that we can fix and work on and hopefully make better.
00:53:10As far as your water, so I actually opened up your cistern and tested straight out of it.
00:53:15And you have some high coliforms on that, but you also have E. coli, which the design of the cistern, that's to be expected because flood water went over top of it.
00:53:27So you do have some E. coli.
00:53:29Those are things that could potentially make your family sick.
00:53:32Yeah.
00:53:33So we're up against it when it comes to soil and water.
00:53:35They're both contaminated.
00:53:36Yeah.
00:53:37So clearly, I'd continue to pack water until we collectively figure out a plan that can make this water safe.
00:53:46Yeah.
00:53:47And in order to grow food here that's not going to make you sick, we're going to have to figure out how we're treating the soil.
00:53:55Hearing the results aren't great, but it's very good information because at least you know your starting point.
00:54:04You're very welcome.
00:54:05Thanks, Amy.
00:54:06The challenge now is what are we going to do about it?
00:54:10This hurricane has compromised this water system.
00:54:15We've discovered not just coliform bacteria, which won't kill you, but we've discovered E. coli in there, which will or could kill you.
00:54:24They've been getting water here from a spring a quarter mile away up the mountain, so we're going to have to get smart.
00:54:32We might rip this whole thing out, start over.
00:54:35I don't know.
00:54:36We're running out of time, but I have to figure it out.
00:54:39Woo!
00:54:40Are you guys excited to put in a new garden?
00:54:41Yeah.
00:54:42Yes.
00:54:43That's fun, right?
00:54:44With only three days remaining on the ward's North Carolina rescue.
00:54:46This has got happy place written all over it.
00:54:47Yep.
00:54:48Misty and the kids add a fresh coat of paint to the new hurricane-proof garden bunker beds.
00:55:04Man, girls, this looks good.
00:55:09When it comes to the new garden beds, not only are we trying to make it hurricane-proof, but we are dealing with contaminated soil, contaminated water.
00:55:17So we're going to add sand logs and branches for good drainage before we introduce organic topsoil, so when water comes, the garden's safe and you can grow clean, safe food.
00:55:30All right, men.
00:55:36At the future livestock site...
00:55:39We're going to do some crazy stuff here, guys.
00:55:41Matt, Mason, and Clayton utilize an abundant homestead resource for the property's new animal panels.
00:55:49The way I built this high ground for the livestock is the chickens have to live close to the pigs, but the pigs are dangerous to chickens.
00:55:59And the last thing I want to happen here is have the bacon eat the eggs for breakfast.
00:56:05And so building two separate pens so that the pigs don't eat the chickens is the next step.
00:56:13We're only using wood and decking screws, but trust me, this jig, it's going to be cheaper, it's going to be faster than going to get a sawmill, and you're going to learn everything you could ever know about how to cut a log.
00:56:28We're taking a high-powered chainsaw, drilling some holes through that chainsaw bar, and we're fashioning a jig that allows you to cut along the length of a log and turn that log into lumber.
00:56:40There you go, the POV.
00:56:42Working with Matt, it's teaching me a lot of stuff for the homestead.
00:56:46And I'm looking forward to getting the chicken coop and hog pens done, that way we can get them somewhere safe and a lot better.
00:56:52place than where they're at currently.
00:56:53Yeah!
00:56:54All right, shut her down.
00:56:55Let's go.
00:56:56Let's go.
00:56:57Let's go.
00:56:58Let's go.
00:56:59Let's go.
00:57:00Let's go.
00:57:01Let's go.
00:57:02Let's go.
00:57:03Let's go.
00:57:04Get mining.
00:57:05Let's get it.
00:57:06Let's go.
00:57:07Right!
00:57:08I'm looking forward to getting the chicken coop
00:57:10and hog pens done.
00:57:13That way we can get them somewhere safe
00:57:15and a lot better place than where they're at currently.
00:57:19Yeah!
00:57:21All right, shut her down.
00:57:23Here's the moment of truth.
00:57:24Look at that.
00:57:26So, does it work?
00:57:29It works.
00:57:30It's kind of a step forward in my eyes,
00:57:32knowing that I can come out here
00:57:34with just a regular chainsaw
00:57:35and do it the old fashioned way.
00:57:38You know what I really appreciate about you?
00:57:40You're not afraid of hard work.
00:57:42And I don't think there's any harder work
00:57:44than milling your own lumber with a chainsaw.
00:57:47But we did one cut.
00:57:49Yep.
00:57:50It's not easy.
00:57:52Now, let's do some more cuts.
00:57:54We're trying to get siding, you know, stuff for trim.
00:57:57Just trying to get as much one by as we can.
00:57:59What do you think?
00:58:00That'll work.
00:58:01Sounds like a plan.
00:58:02Fine.
00:58:07Anybody nail anybody yet?
00:58:09Nope.
00:58:10I'm impressed.
00:58:11Over at the new modular home,
00:58:14Marty seeks to rebuild the homestead's water system.
00:58:17I don't want anybody getting nailed.
00:58:19You look like a pro.
00:58:21Holy moly.
00:58:23Been doing this just a little bit.
00:58:25I appreciate that generations of people
00:58:28have been using the springs on the side of that mountain.
00:58:31But this generation, Josh and Haley,
00:58:34have contaminated water,
00:58:35at least as far as the holding tank goes.
00:58:38So I think we're going to bypass the whole thing.
00:58:40Just for the record, guys,
00:58:42we were thinking about putting a pump house right there.
00:58:45So you have to make a decision
00:58:47if that's going to work for you right there.
00:58:49It's perfect.
00:58:50Marty will construct an eight-by-ten-foot pump house
00:58:54to hold a 1,000-gallon water tank infiltration system
00:58:58with a direct line to the natural spring a half-mile away,
00:59:02pumping clean water into the family's new modular home.
00:59:07Make sure there's, like...
00:59:09Straight.
00:59:10I know this is not as flat.
00:59:11We may need to move out there.
00:59:13Our water system is contaminated.
00:59:16So if we don't get this fixed,
00:59:18there's no way we can have a sustainable homestead.
00:59:21So knowing that it's something that we can work on
00:59:24is such a huge relief.
00:59:26Any time I see anybody that proficient doing that kind of work,
00:59:30Leo, we take them back to Alaska.
00:59:33Oh, no, no, no.
00:59:34I need her. I need her.
00:59:37Thank you for your help. Carry on.
00:59:43Grab that board, sonny boy.
00:59:48With less than 48 hours left in the rescue...
00:59:53Just like that.
00:59:58Matt fortifies the chicken coop before moving it to the new livestock area.
01:00:04I'm gonna run something by you.
01:00:06Mm-hmm.
01:00:07While in the new garden,
01:00:09Misty plans to add another line of defense against future storms.
01:00:14I feel like we're moving right along when it comes to hurricane-proofing this garden.
01:00:20But I want to take this to the next level.
01:00:22Every day, the wind blows up the mountain, and how hard does it blow here?
01:00:2860-mile-an-hour gusts.
01:00:30Yeah.
01:00:31Frequent 60-mile-an-hour gusts is really hard on plants.
01:00:35Yeah.
01:00:36So here's what I'm thinking.
01:00:37Right.
01:00:38We create a wind barricade for the plants.
01:00:41We have all of these massive wooden lids sitting on top of the concrete garden beds,
01:00:46making it hurricane-proof that you'll remove during the growing season.
01:00:50But instead of storing them, why not use them every day to protect the garden?
01:00:54I do like that idea.
01:00:55Okay.
01:00:56Now, where does this wind barricade go?
01:00:58You have your new house, right?
01:01:00Yeah.
01:01:01Positioned, kind of blocking this area.
01:01:02We have a pretty good wind barricade with the trees.
01:01:06All of our trees during the hurricane were blown that way.
01:01:11So I think having them on both ends is going to actually stop some wind.
01:01:16Okay.
01:01:17So four and four bookend wind barricade walls for the garden.
01:01:22Yep.
01:01:23That works.
01:01:27I'm such a big fan of building anything that's dual purpose.
01:01:30And I think these hurricane lids, there's a wind barricade for blocking the garden from
01:01:35any of these high afternoon gusts of wind.
01:01:37We'll solve multiple problems with one solution.
01:01:40The idea really is one hurricane lid is here.
01:01:43The next is here, allowing for that breeze and the air to pass through.
01:01:48Another one is here.
01:01:50And another one is here.
01:01:52We're meticulously and carefully getting them into place.
01:01:56Because if you create a solid wind catch, it's going to blow down.
01:02:00So we've got to create this stagger effect where wind can pass through,
01:02:05but it's not blasting the plants.
01:02:07That's all I'm trying to do.
01:02:09I think it might need to go over just a little bit.
01:02:12And then when it comes to this greenhouse, it survived the hurricane.
01:02:15So we're getting it up to the garden, moving it in place, getting it nice and level.
01:02:20And we want it to be close to the new garden space and give Haley back her happy place.
01:02:26From what I can tell, it looks great.
01:02:28So at the moment, whenever I look around the homestead and I see the things that are getting done,
01:02:35everything is moving in the right direction.
01:02:37Wow, guys!
01:02:39Woo!
01:02:40We get hurricane winds here not as strong as Selene, but that's a common thing here, especially in the summertime.
01:02:46So the wind barricades are going to be a great asset so I don't have to worry about losing something that is so vital to growing food.
01:02:55There's room to expand too, right?
01:02:58Yeah.
01:02:59There's room for berry bushes, fruit trees, more garden beds, kind of whatever you want to do.
01:03:04There's a lot of space up here.
01:03:06And then also, I've got the greenhouse right there where I can easily get to it.
01:03:11I can get in there and work and bring my plants back out.
01:03:15And just everything is right there.
01:03:17And it's not only just a functional space, but it's a beautiful space.
01:03:26Lift!
01:03:27Over at the modular home...
01:03:30You pin that wherever you think it's flush.
01:03:32Marty and Josh raise the pump house walls...
01:03:36Put a screw in this corner, please.
01:03:38While a crucial piece of the homestead's new water system remains in flux...
01:03:44Once we discovered that this water was indeed contaminated,
01:03:48we reached out to Rain Harvest trying to design a system that would work here.
01:03:52Good to see you again.
01:03:53Nice to see you again.
01:03:54Curtis.
01:03:55Nice to see you, Curtis. Nice to meet you.
01:03:57We needed a Skookum system that would give these guys clean and safe drinking water.
01:04:03We've got a rain flow 1,000 gallon water tank up there for you.
01:04:06That's twice the capacity you had before.
01:04:09We've got a pumping system.
01:04:10It's got a five-stage treatment system.
01:04:13So three of those stages take care of bacteria,
01:04:16which we understand there was a bit of a bacteria problem.
01:04:19So we're going to treat that to make sure that it's safe.
01:04:21All right.
01:04:22Awesome.
01:04:23Pretty wild.
01:04:24Sounds amazing.
01:04:25Come in.
01:04:27Water was obviously something that's been in the back of our minds.
01:04:32And then to turn around and see that pull up,
01:04:37and then realize that it wasn't just the tank.
01:04:40It was this whole purification system,
01:04:43knowing that we can water animals with clean water and our garden eventually,
01:04:49knowing that it's not going to be something that's going to make them sick,
01:04:52in return to make us sick.
01:04:54It's a huge relief.
01:04:56It's very awesome, you know, to see people you know that don't even know us
01:04:59work so hard to come up with something to be able to purify our water.
01:05:05We are very grateful for them coming out and not only donating it,
01:05:08but donating their time to drive down here and set it up.
01:05:11That is very generous of them.
01:05:15Randy, how's it going in here?
01:05:17It's going pretty good.
01:05:18How close are they to having drinkable water?
01:05:21Probably an hour.
01:05:23Yep.
01:05:24I believe we can hold out.
01:05:25All right, one more hour.
01:05:27You bet.
01:05:28Thank you so much.
01:05:29Yeah, I'm very excited about this.
01:05:30Very, very excited about this.
01:05:38Now let's move the chicken coop.
01:05:40Let's go.
01:05:42Okay, here we go.
01:05:48Whoa!
01:06:06Okay, here we go.
01:06:08With time winding down on the ward's hurricane-ravaged homestead.
01:06:14I love it.
01:06:15That's perfect.
01:06:16Perfect.
01:06:17Now let's move to the chicken coop.
01:06:19Let's go.
01:06:20The Rainies make their final push to get the family's off-grid dream back up and running.
01:06:26Now that we have sturdy high ground for our livestock structures, we need to move them to their new locations, and we've got to do it now.
01:06:35It looks like it's dragging good.
01:06:37It's working so far.
01:06:38Usually you don't want to leave the homestead high and dry unless you're trying to get the livestock into a safe place from the floods.
01:06:47This livestock has a fighting chance at no matter what Mother Nature wants to throw at this homestead.
01:06:53Whoa!
01:06:54There's a rock there!
01:06:55This is blowing my mind!
01:06:56Yeah!
01:06:57There's food!
01:06:58There is food!
01:06:59Starting now!
01:07:00For me on this homestead, I think trying to create a hurricane-proof garden, I didn't know if that was possible.
01:07:19But when you step back and you look at these solid concrete walls, I think we fully created a hurricane-proof garden.
01:07:28Can I show you something really exciting?
01:07:31Yeah!
01:07:32So I don't have to, like, run a hose from the house?
01:07:38So there's water and there's soaker hoses, and I think connecting all the lines and then having water this close to the greenhouse for all the seeds, like, it's all here.
01:07:49Yeah.
01:07:50So a thousand gallons of clean water, not just for you guys, but for the garden as well, is, like, really exciting.
01:07:55Yeah, this means a lot.
01:07:58The entire garden, not only just is it hurricane-proof, but it's built for me and for my circumstances.
01:08:06No matter my surgery with my brain tumor or other things that happen, it's gonna be accessible for me no matter what, which is huge just to have that peace that I'm still gonna have my happy place there.
01:08:19What do you think?
01:08:20Awesome!
01:08:21So beautiful!
01:08:22Smell how good it is, right?
01:08:23It smells so good in here.
01:08:24So good!
01:08:25The fact that you had a greenhouse that stood the ultimate test and is hurricane-proof as well, you take this and you combine it with that and you're pretty much set up for success.
01:08:39Yeah.
01:08:40Do you think it's official, is this the happy place?
01:08:43This is the happy place.
01:08:46This is the most plants also that I've seen in this thing in over a year.
01:08:52Yeah!
01:08:53So...
01:08:54This is so amazing.
01:08:55No more weeds.
01:08:56No.
01:08:57Now it's official.
01:08:58There's food.
01:08:59There's flowers.
01:09:00We don't have contaminated soil.
01:09:01We don't have contaminated water.
01:09:03You're growing safe food starting now.
01:09:05And it doesn't matter what the weather throws at you because this is here to stay.
01:09:09Yeah.
01:09:10And it's, it's not only sturdy but it's beautiful and I'm so, I'm so excited just to get started.
01:09:16Like, this afternoon I'll be, I'll be in here doing stuff.
01:09:20One week ago, the Ward family was unable to grow food on their homestead after floods from Hurricane Helene decimated their garden, contaminated their soil, and left their greenhouse in poisonous weed-covered ruins.
01:09:38Today, they have raised cement garden bunkers with clean soil, a wind barricade built to withstand storms, and a revitalized greenhouse, allowing them to once again live self-sustainably on the homestead.
01:09:54Like, truly, a few weeks ago when my doctor told me, you know, that we needed to start eating clean again, first thing on our mind was growing our own food here.
01:10:05And I didn't think we'd be able to do it this year.
01:10:10And I was worried about that.
01:10:12And it's already here.
01:10:13It's already here because of you.
01:10:15Aw, and you.
01:10:27I think we got action happening here.
01:10:30Oh, wow.
01:10:33Usually when you see a fire truck, that's bad news.
01:10:37Not today.
01:10:43Wow.
01:10:44Hey, Marty.
01:10:45What's this all about?
01:10:46I want some help.
01:10:47Five of you?
01:10:49Are you kidding me?
01:10:51So Keith here is the fire chief of the department I'm on.
01:10:54Cool.
01:10:55We got Daniel here.
01:10:56He's a former Woodlawn fireman.
01:10:58We got Josh here.
01:10:59We got Garrett Cook.
01:11:00He's also on the Woodlawn fire department.
01:11:02And got my dad.
01:11:04Dad.
01:11:05That's cool.
01:11:06My son and my grandson are firefighters, and maybe it's just a family tradition.
01:11:13I don't know, but I'm proud of them.
01:11:15His son, Mason, was actually with me in this engine 3 o'clock that morning.
01:11:20We was out on calls.
01:11:22And you were looking for people?
01:11:24Yes, ma'am.
01:11:25We was having to evacuate them.
01:11:26Yeah.
01:11:27Did you ever think that a hurricane from 500 miles from the coast would come inland and devastate this mountain property in North Carolina?
01:11:39No.
01:11:40No idea.
01:11:41That's a little scary.
01:11:43No, it's a whole lot scary.
01:11:45Whole lot scary.
01:11:46It's pretty incredible what you guys do.
01:11:49Thank you for everything that you do.
01:11:51It sounds like everybody has been through it.
01:11:55You all look pretty strapping.
01:11:58We got a lot going on.
01:12:00You got an unfinished building behind me.
01:12:02I guess grab a hammer, a saw, a tape measure, and who's got the best reflexes?
01:12:08All right.
01:12:09You're coming with me.
01:12:10All right.
01:12:11Let's go to work.
01:12:12Let's go.
01:12:13Thanks, guys.
01:12:15My experience in the night of the storm, we went to bed that night, me and my family.
01:12:22Woke up the next morning to winds howling, rains like I've never seen before.
01:12:28The morning of the storm, we got us on standby on work because it started getting kind of rough.
01:12:34You didn't know if anybody was alive.
01:12:36All communication was cut off.
01:12:39Josh being on the local fire department, I knew he was out on calls.
01:12:43That's Josh.
01:12:44And I knew his son Mason, my grandson, was out on calls too.
01:12:48Josh has been there for me through some really dark times.
01:12:52It's really good to see what's happening for his family.
01:12:57They shared food.
01:12:58They shared what they had.
01:13:00That makes me very proud of them.
01:13:03They definitely deserve it, as much as he does for the community.
01:13:07What'd you say, 12 inches on each side?
01:13:10It needs to come this way an inch.
01:13:12I think it's awesome.
01:13:13They still don't have water.
01:13:26We're gonna splice into that, and we're gonna head right to the pump house.
01:13:29That would be awesome.
01:13:30We need 100% self-sufficient.
01:13:38Holy cow-olina!
01:13:41That's our milk cow.
01:13:43Friendly?
01:13:44Yeah.
01:13:46What's your cow's name?
01:13:47We just call her mama cow.
01:13:49Mama cow?
01:13:50They say that buffalo like music.
01:13:52We'll see if cows like music.
01:13:54You like something old-timey?
01:13:57Now that I got it all slickered up, thank you.
01:14:20Little number I call 374.
01:14:28I like this cow.
01:14:37Look what we got!
01:14:38With only two hours remaining on the ward homestead.
01:14:41No, you did not. You did not.
01:14:43We got chickens!
01:14:45Matt restores livestock that had been wiped out by Hurricane Helene,
01:14:50providing the promise of a self-sufficient future for the family.
01:14:55Combined all together, you got about 20 chickens.
01:14:58Okay.
01:14:59Three laying hens and a rooster.
01:15:01Mm-hmm.
01:15:02And you now have the ability to brood your own chicks.
01:15:06Yeah. Thank you.
01:15:08There's only really one thing left to do.
01:15:10Let's put all these chickens where they need to go.
01:15:12The big ones will go in the big coop.
01:15:14Little ones will go in a nice warm spot.
01:15:17The homesteaders used to have 30 chickens.
01:15:19Now they got 20.
01:15:21Cora and Clayton are gonna have a lot of fun raising these chicks,
01:15:24but one day these chicks are gonna grow up
01:15:26and they're gonna have 15 laying hens.
01:15:29They're gonna be providing the homesteaders
01:15:31with their food needs for a long time.
01:15:34They look like happy chickens to you?
01:15:36Yep.
01:15:37And across the homestead...
01:15:39The water line should be right here.
01:15:42Let's find it!
01:15:43In the rescue's final moments...
01:15:46Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
01:15:48Right there!
01:15:49Marty, Josh, and Mason race to complete
01:15:52the vital new water system.
01:15:54We're gonna splice into that.
01:15:56We're gonna head right to the pump house.
01:15:58That would be awesome.
01:15:59We're gonna cut right into that line,
01:16:01introduce it into a brand new 1,000 gallon tank,
01:16:06clean that water up with five different aspects of filtration,
01:16:11and start the entire water system on this homestead all over.
01:16:16All right, and that should be, once we push it on there,
01:16:19good to go.
01:16:20Okay, ready?
01:16:21Yep.
01:16:22Done?
01:16:23Yep.
01:16:24Okay.
01:16:25Turn on the water.
01:16:26It should be going all the way to the pump house.
01:16:27Yep.
01:16:28We weren't able to build a farmhouse,
01:16:36but we were able to build this small skin and shack.
01:16:40And I hope it's enough to separate somewhat stinky kind of stuff
01:16:46that happens with taxidermy from your guys' business.
01:16:50Yeah, that's a big step.
01:16:53Seven days ago, Josh and Mason's taxidermy business
01:16:58was confined to a single cramped space
01:17:01after their old farmhouse was destroyed in Hurricane Helene.
01:17:05Now, they have two separate workspaces to process
01:17:10and create taxidermied animals,
01:17:13allowing their off-grid business to thrive.
01:17:17All right, we're ready to move these pigs over.
01:17:19I mean, I can't think of any other way to move them over there,
01:17:21unless we've got to use that kennel.
01:17:24It's slippery, and these pigs are going to be a little bit heavy.
01:17:30All four of these kids that I worked with are amazing,
01:17:34and their older brother, Mason, I mean, what can I say?
01:17:37He's a man grown.
01:17:39He's almost 18 years old.
01:17:41The fact that Mason's been so capable this entire time
01:17:44was the only reason why I was able to do as much as I was able to do
01:17:49to help his family.
01:17:51Finally, I pigs over here.
01:17:53So I'm all the way down at the hill.
01:17:55Yeah, kind of hard when on the side of the hill.
01:17:57Easier to get than water.
01:17:59Yeah? You think it's a better spot?
01:18:01Yeah.
01:18:02I'm really glad with how this turned out,
01:18:03and I'm so thrilled I was able to do it with you young folks
01:18:06because it was just so much fun.
01:18:08I mean, I think our work here is done.
01:18:10It's been a real pleasure.
01:18:11One week ago, the Ward family lacked adequate shelter
01:18:18for their three pigs, and their damaged chicken coop
01:18:21left them unable to raise chickens for meat or eggs.
01:18:25Now, they have reconstructed livestock dwellings at the top of the hill
01:18:31to keep the animals safe and happy, while they once again provide the family
01:18:36with a crucial source of protein.
01:18:38The new homestead, that's the future.
01:18:47We can make it work.
01:18:48We can make it work.
01:18:49All right.
01:18:51You got contaminated water.
01:18:53That is a state-of-the-art filtration system.
01:18:57You've got clean water, and there's a 1,000-gallon tank.
01:19:00Is it full?
01:19:01Blowing over the top.
01:19:02Yeah.
01:19:03Knowing that we got good, clean water, you know, to provide to the wife and the kids and everything,
01:19:08you know, it ain't going to do nothing but make us better and healthier.
01:19:11When we showed up here, water may have been one of your biggest problems,
01:19:16and right now it's the least of any problems on this homestead.
01:19:21That box has been checked.
01:19:23Yeah, sure has.
01:19:24I would say.
01:19:25Seven days ago, the wards were living in a cramped trailer with a contaminated water supply,
01:19:32and their cows lacked both shelter and a milking area,
01:19:36leaving the family without a crucial off-grid supply of dairy.
01:19:41Today, the family has a new home with $100,000 donated toward their mortgage payment,
01:19:50a new water system with state-of-the-art filtration,
01:19:53and a brand-new barn with a milking stanchion to keep the cows protected and dairy-producing.
01:20:00Oh, it helps a whole lot.
01:20:02We can start milking again.
01:20:04Copy that.
01:20:05Well, guess what?
01:20:06You're ready.
01:20:07Whenever Hurricane Helene hit, I was worried about, you know,
01:20:11how it was going to make things work out,
01:20:13and how long it was going to take to get back to normal,
01:20:16or a new normal because things won't never be the way they was.
01:20:20But working with Marty this week, we can actually function back like we was before the hurricane.
01:20:26And it really feels good, you know, to be back able to where we can continue helping out in the community
01:20:31and provide for ourselves.
01:20:37I think your homestead looks a lot different now than it did a week ago.
01:20:48It was an awesome week.
01:20:50Yeah, it was amazing.
01:20:52Your children were an amazing help.
01:20:54This week was fun.
01:20:56I had fun working with Matt and Misty.
01:21:00Plus, there is no possible way we would have been able to do all this without all the generosity of all the people that came to help us.
01:21:11If it wasn't for y'all, then we wouldn't be as far as we come this past week.
01:21:17You know, I mean, it's got us back to where we can function.
01:21:20One day, we came back to our house, and everything was gone.
01:21:25And in one week, we have even better than what we had before.
01:21:30So it's not just our homestead, but it's a refuge now, somewhere we can be safe, know that we can have food here again.
01:21:40You've given that back to us, the, you know, we can get back to doing what we know and love.
01:21:47You guys are set up and just take a deep breath and enjoy your family.
01:21:52Yes.
01:21:53Yeah.
01:21:55You're welcome.
01:21:56Will there be a sixth generation of homesteaders on this property?
01:22:02I'm confident there will be.
01:22:05Come, hell lean, or high water.
01:22:10We're doing it!
01:22:12Bye!
01:22:13Thank you!
01:22:15Thank you!
01:22:16Yes!
01:22:17Since the Rainey's left, we have gotten into our new house.
01:22:27Everybody's got their own room.
01:22:29You know, we do have space for Mason.
01:22:31And we have plenty of water.
01:22:34We're actually all back to drinking the water that comes straight from here.
01:22:37We have a cow back in milk.
01:22:38We're getting chicken eggs.
01:22:40A couple more weeks, and we'll be ready to butcher some pigs.
01:22:43These raised beds have been amazing in the garden.
01:22:46It's so easy for me to just come out here and do what I need to do.
01:22:49The wind walls have protected all the crops.
01:22:52We've added a trellis.
01:22:54We had a good harvest, and we have a lot of food to eat.
01:22:58Having the new Skin and Shack has been a real big help.
01:23:02Being able to get done things quicker and turn them around a whole lot faster.
01:23:06Our customers have a good experience coming in.
01:23:09It's been great.
01:23:10By the fall, we will be 100% back.
01:23:13We want to say thank you to Marty.
01:23:15Miss you, Matt.
01:23:16And, of course, everybody else that came out and helped.
01:23:19We are so thankful for each and every one of you.
01:23:21It was so thankful for you.
01:23:22I got it.
01:23:23I got it.
01:23:24Let's see you.
01:23:25Let's see you next week, and let me see you next week.
01:23:26See you next week.
01:23:27Thanks, David.
01:23:28See you next week, guys.
01:23:29Thanks, everybody.
01:23:30Thanks.
01:23:31Thank you, guys.
01:23:32Thanks for having fun.
01:23:33Bye.
01:23:34Bye.
01:23:35Bye.
01:23:36Bye.
01:23:37Bye.
01:23:38Bye.
01:23:40Bye.
01:23:41Bye.
01:23:42Bye.
01:23:43Bye.
01:23:44Bye.
01:23:45Bye.
01:23:46Bye.
01:23:47Bye.
01:23:48Bye.
01:23:49Bye.
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